Florida sheriff arrests four in organized theft ring targeting semi truck Electronic Control Modules

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced the results of a major investigation into an organized crime ring that stole Electronic Control Modules (ECM) from dozens of semi trucks, rendering them inoperable.

On July 29, HCSO held a news conference announcing the arrest of four individuals in connection with a series of ECM thefts in several Florida counties, targeting 93 victims and causing over $750,000 in losses from theft and damages.

“Their crime spree is now officially over,” HCSO said.

According Sheriff Chad Chronister, in May 2025, an HCSO detective observed an individual breaking into and damaging the engine compartment of a Freightliner truck parked at a short term lot in Hillsborough County, Florida, in order to steal the truck’s ECM.

Investigators learned that there were four individuals breaking into truck parking facilities as part of an organized theft operation, causing damage to the truck in addition to the theft of the vehicle’s ECM. The ECMs would then be transported to a broker in Texas who was able to “wipe them clean” and resell them, according HCSO.

“You can imagine the amount of damage that they’re doing to every other piece of equipment inside the engine compartment while they’re trying to steal and quickly flee the scene of the crime,” said Chronister.

HCSO Detectives worked with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, obtaining 25 search warrants and subpoenas as part of the investigation.

The investigation led to the arrest of the following four individuals, identified by HCSO as Cuban nationals with no legal status, living in the Palm Beach and Miami-Dade areas:

• Geosvany Figuerdero-Gonzalez, 27
  • One count of Conspiracy To Engage in Racketeering
  • 28 counts of Grand Theft 3rd degree
  • 28 counts of Burglary of Unoccupied Conveyance (Travel Across County Lines)
  • One count of Criminal Mischief of $1,000 or more
• Orlando Martinez-Dorta, 28
  • One count of Conspiracy To Engage in Racketeering
  • 9 counts of Grand Theft 3rd degree
  • 9 counts of Burglary of Unoccupied Conveyance (Travel Across County Lines)
  • One count of Criminal Mischief of $1,000 or more
• Liovel Urra-Penate, 28
  • One count of Conspiracy To Engage in Racketeering
• Brian Sanchez-Perez, 27
  • One count of Conspiracy To Engage in Racketeering
  • 28 counts of Grand Theft 3rd degree
  • 28 counts of Burglary of Unoccupied Conveyance (Travel Across County Lines)
  • One count of Criminal Mischief of $1,000 or more

“But here’s the most egregious part. These hardworking tractor operators that we so heavily rely on, think about what happens now when the computer, that brain [of the truck], has been removed. That tractor is inoperable. How about the unrealized gains, the financial loss, the potential earnings? They don’t get paid if they’re not driving and transporting goods. I shudder to think about the value of money that they’ve lost, that their families suffered, that income, because of these four individuals,” Chronister said.

Chronister said that ECUs can sell for as much as $3,000 to $10,000 each.