Investigations

On August 13, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Tal Ohana pleaded guilty to a criminal information filed on the same date charging Ohana with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Ohana was an employee of various Brooklyn, New York-based and affiliated household goods moving companies—including C and D Moving, Inc., Hicks Moving & Storage, Cross Country Moving and Storage Inc., and Great Movers, Inc. According to court documents, between approximately January 2018 and August 2020, Ohana, with accomplices, agreed to defraud the United States and the Department by submitting forms to the Agency regarding motor carriers, which Ohana knew contained false information about the companies' ownership and true location. They also failed to disclose the motor carriers' affiliations with other motor carriers whose operating authority had been revoked or suspended by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Further, the group directed others to lie to Federal regulators and customers. It concealed the moving companies' true location and obstructed the Department and FMCSA from enforcing safety regulations governing the use of commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce.

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.