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Household Goods Moving Company Owner Sentenced for Conspiracy to Transport Stolen Property

On January 6, 2016, Tasheen "Ty" R. Pickett was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Atlanta, Georgia, for conspiracy to transport stolen property related to a household goods theft scheme. Pickett was sentenced to 48 months imprisonment followed by 36 months supervised release and to pay $427,809.85 in restitution to his victims.

This investigation was based on a referral to OIG from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Pickett owned and operated J and P Moving, Inc. (J&P), a company that purported to provide moving services for individuals seeking to ship their household goods (HHG) from one location to another. Even though J&P did not have authority from FMCSA to transport HHG, they would acquire HHG moving jobs. They would travel to the location of the job, load the HHG into a moving truck under the pretense of providing moving services, but never return the HHG to the rightful owner. In some instances, when the owner of the HHG would contact J&P seeking the return of their possessions, Pickett and other representatives of J&P would provide excuses for the failure to deliver. They would promise to deliver the HHG at a later date, but despite making these promises, the HHG would never be delivered.

USDOT-OIG agents identified 34 victims of "Hostage Loads" taken by Pickett and successfully reunited 20 of those victims with the majority of their possessions.