A valuable Ohio copper shipment vanished after changing carriers in Oklahoma City.
A large shipment of copper from an Ohio scrap metal company disappeared after a driver allegedly took the load during a trip to Georgia, according to a lawsuit now pending in federal court. Joseph Krash Metal Co., a Bedford Heights, Ohio, resident hired Cleveland Express Trucking in February of this year to move the copper to a recycling plant in Augusta, Georgia. The shipment was worth about $239,000. According to court filings, the copper was picked up at the company’s Solon Road facility and transported roughly 1,100 miles to Oklahoma City.
The copper shipment was supposed to continue from there to Georgia, but that never happened. A driver attempted to unload the copper at a United Van Lines transfer station in Oklahoma City on February 6 and move it into another trailer. Workers at the facility became concerned and contacted Cleveland Express and local police, according to the lawsuit. The copper was held at the Oklahoma City facility while Cleveland Express looked for another company to complete the delivery. The trucking company later hired Voyager 1 Transportation, a North Carolina-based carrier, to take the shipment to Georgia.
The case became more complicated after the company originally listed as the carrier said it had never agreed to transport the copper. Transmac Freight, a Las Vegas-based trucking company, was identified in the lawsuit as the company Cleveland Express had subcontracted to handle the load. Transmac owner Angelo Dees said his company was not involved in the shipment, and that his personal email account had been hacked. He claimed someone had used it to set up, or attempt to set up, several trucking jobs. Dees further state that the company does not accept shipments valued above $100,000 because of insurance limitations and mainly handles food deliveries.
Dees notes that none of his company’s trucks were near Ohio when the copper was taken. He told Cleveland Express that the truck shown in photos sent by the company did not belong to Transmac, even though the vehicle carried a Transmac logo. Cleveland Express then used GPS tracking to follow the shipment after Voyager 1 took possession of it. At some point along the way, however, the tracking signal was lost. Cleveland Express eventually reached the driver, who reportedly said he had “hijacked” the cargo. Not only was the copper never delivered, but it has yet to be recovered.
Joseph Krash Metals has sued Cleveland Express Trucking and Cleveland Express Transportation, claiming the companies were supposed to handle the shipment rather than turn it over to unknown or unapproved carriers. The lawsuit also accuses Cleveland Express of failing to properly check the companies and drivers involved in moving the valuable load. Voyager 1 Transportation is also named as a defendant in the suit, which was first filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court before being moved to federal court in Cleveland.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently warned that thieves can use hacked email accounts to impersonate trucking companies, arrange shipments, collect valuable goods and then disappear with the cargo. The agency has also reported a sharp increase in these types of thefts over the past several months. Dees said he was contacted by the FBI back in April but had not received further information regarding where the copper might be.
Sources:
Lawsuit: Shipment of $239K worth of copper from Bedford Heights ‘hijacked’ in OKC
Local company’s stolen scrap shipment highlights growing trend that prompted FBI warning
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