A group scammed about 800 customers in New York by offering them cheap moving quotes and then demanding exorbitant fees in exchange for returning their possessions, according to federal prosecutors.
Kristy Mak (34) and Andre Prince (45), two workers from the shady moving company, were declared guilty to hold their clients’ belongings hostage unless they paid thousands more in illegal last-minute fees. Both remain free on bail until their scheduled sentencing on April 10. They could face up to 20 years in prison.
“Once the customers’ belongings were on the trucks, the changing Brooklyn company demanded more money to unload them,” he described The New York Times.
“It was the worst experience I have ever had in my life.”
Christopher Post – Bored customer
A Brooklyn Federal Court jury needed less than a day to convict Mak and Prince on Monday of wire fraud conspiracy after they were tried for helping defraud more than 800 customers for a total of $3 million dollars.
Mak and Prince worked in the office Fort Lauderdale (Florida) from a moving company that changed name and address several times a year to stay one step ahead of customer complaints and bad online reviews.
The owner of the company, Yakov Moroz, accused in 2020, abandoned bail in January. It is believed that is hidden in IsraelAccording to police sources, he indicated Daily News.
Mak worked in customer service and as a sales manager for the company, which had names like “Great Movers,” New City Movers” and “American Choice Van Lines.” Meanwhile, Prince worked as a sales representative, using a false name when he called potential clients and offered low estimates to convince them, prosecutors said.
However, when moving day arrived, customers faced overweight charges and a “transportation fee,” supposedly because the roads and driveways to their homes were not suitable for a 53-foot tractor-trailer, which It meant the company had to send smaller trucks to finish the move.
except that The company didn’t actually have a 53-foot tractor-trailer in its fleet.testified Kristin Smith, a customer service employee who he accepted a plea deal and became a government informant.
Smith testified that he prepared a script for his co-workers to use on angry customers. If they refused to pay, “we will keep [sus pertenencias] and they will have a week to recover them before they go up for auction.”
Jurors also heard from several victims, including Christopher Post, a former Maryland resident who moved to Long Island, NY in November 2017. “It was the worst experience I have ever had in my life,” he claimed. In his case he obtained an estimate of $2,425 dollars, but he ended up paying almost $6,700 to get his belongings back and then had to pay $3,000 more to the other company that did complete the move.
“The jury concluded that these defendants They conspired in a despicable scheme to rob their victims when they were most vulnerable and at the mercy of corrupt agents who held their possessions hostage. mundane,” summarized federal prosecutor Breon Peace. “No one who hires moving services should be exploited in this way.”
2023-12-14 16:11:00
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