LOS ANGELES: A federal jury has convicted two Indian nationals in connection with a cargo theft conspiracy that prosecutors said used legitimate trucking companies and genuine shipping contracts to obtain high-value freight only for the loads to disappear before reaching their destinations.
Arshpreet Singh, 28, of Sacramento, and Vikramjeet Singh, 31, of Fontana, were found guilty on September 29 of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate or foreign shipments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Arshpreet Singh was also convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Vikramjeet Singh was acquitted of the separate wire-fraud conspiracy charge.
Prosecutors said the scheme operated from March 2024 through June 2025. According to evidence presented during the seven-day federal trial, the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators bought legitimate trucking companies or fraudulently used existing carriers to bid on authentic freight contracts. After winning the contracts and collecting the shipments, the loads allegedly were not delivered to their intended destinations.
The stolen cargo reportedly included televisions, laptops, appliances, solar panels, vacuums, LED lights, shoes and tyres, with prosecutors estimating the total loss at at least $2 million. The alleged thefts stretched across numerous Southern California communities, including Fontana, Vernon, Santa Fe Springs, Perris, City of Industry, Long Beach, Compton, Commerce, Pico Rivera, Chino and Moreno Valley. A related theft location was also identified in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Federal prosecutors cited the purchase of trucking companies as a central feature of the alleged operation. In one example presented at trial, Arshpreet Singh reportedly purchased Texas-based Z&F Transportation LLC for approximately $22,000 in March 2024. Later that month, a co-conspirator operating on behalf of the company picked up a shipment of televisions in Fontana that was supposed to be delivered to Florida but was never delivered, according to the evidence presented by prosecutors.
Another trucking company, Skyways Trucking LLC, was reportedly acquired in May 2024 and subsequently used to book freight loads involving laptops, televisions, solar panels and other merchandise. Prosecutors said the loads were arranged through freight brokers, including Uber Freight, and were then picked up but not delivered to their contracted destinations.
The case involved a multi-agency investigation involving the FBI’s Inland Violent Crime Suppression Task Force, IRS Criminal Investigation, Fontana Police Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Fort Worth Police Department in Texas.
The convictions now move the case into the sentencing stage. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang has scheduled sentencing hearings for January 20, 2027. Arshpreet Singh faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while Vikramjeet Singh faces a statutory maximum of five years on the theft-conspiracy conviction. The statutory maximum is not a prediction of the sentence either defendant will ultimately receive.
The case also highlights a vulnerability within the American freight industry: legitimate transportation companies and authentic shipping contracts can potentially be exploited when criminals gain control of carrier identities or businesses. In this case, prosecutors alleged that the trucking infrastructure itself became the mechanism for obtaining possession of valuable cargo.
For the trucking and logistics industry, the case serves as another warning that a valid carrier name and a genuine freight contract do not, by themselves, guarantee that a shipment will reach its destination.
Punjab Outlook: The convictions concern two specific individuals and should not be generalized to the wider Indian or Punjabi-American trucking community. The overwhelming majority of trucking operators and drivers operate legitimate businesses and have no connection to this case.