Broker group says FMCSA is failing to investigate tens of thousands of freight fraud complaints

This week, freight broker trade group Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is raising public awareness about what they say is a failure of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to act to stop freight fraud.

TIA Tells Congress FMCSA Is Failing To Investigate Tens Of Thousands Of Fraud Cases

The TIA took advantage of an appearance at a January 17 U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting to raise awareness about the damaging effects of freight fraud and to call out the FMCSA for not doing enough to respond.

Former TIA board chair Jeffrey Tucker told lawmakers that “our number one challenge is fraud. Fraud is rampant in trucking. It has ballooned to an $800 million problem. There is a surge of malicious actors engaged in illegal activity, registering with FMCSA as carriers and perpetrating fraud, theft, and holding freight hostage in situations without any legal consequences. While this is obviously an economic problem, hurting consumers and businesses alike, it also raises safety and security concerns.”

“Unfortunately FMCSA is failing to enforce the law investigating tens of thousands of fraud complaints lodged with it,” Tucker continued. “We see similar cases of fraud with dispatch services, which are often based abroad, operating here in our country, who, mind you, are not required by FMCSA to obtain a license or registration, like my company has, doing essentially the same work. We need FMCSA to step up.”

See Tucker’s testimony below.

TIA Says Bad Actors Are Stealing Or Rebrokering Millions Of Dollars Worth Of Loads Per Year

On January 18, the TIA followed up on the Congressional hearing by announcing the launch of a quarterly report that is meant to show the cost of freight fraud to victims.

The group says that freight fraud is responsible for as much as $700 million in damages to victims every year.

“With an annual revenue of more than $700 billion, the trucking and logistics industry is a big target. This common fraud occurs when bad actors, masquerading as motor carriers, logistics companies, or fraudulent entities steal or re-broker loads without the knowledge or consent of any of the parties to the transaction. Fraudulent entities will often steal the identities of legitimate motor carriers and find other victims to take freight and withhold payment,” the TIA said in a news release.

“Freight fraud is our members number one priority,” said Anne Reinke, president & CEO of the TIA. “We do not feel that the federal government, FBI or local police are understanding the extent of fraud that happens in the supply chain industry. Fraud costs victims an estimated $500 million to $700 million in freight payments annually.”

The TIA plans to release the first freight fraud report in Q2 of 2024.

The TIA describes itself as the nation’s “only organization exclusively representing transportation intermediaries of all disciplines doing business in domestic and international commerce.”