March 6, 2003

In Las Vegas and across the country -- hundreds of customers ripped off by moving companies are cheering a major victory -- delivered in the form of a federal dragnet that snagged dozens of criminals. News 3 Investigators have been exposing moving industry scams for almost a year now.

The victims are your neighbors here in Las Vegas. But most of the moving companies they hired off the Internet are based in South Florida. That's where the FBI and US Department of Transportation made dozens of arrests and handed down numerous indictments -- moving the scam movers off the street, and into jail.

The code name? Operation Stow Biz. A major law enforcement crackdown on rogue movers who have ripped off hundreds of customers, like Tyrone Kelley. "I do feel somewhat vindicated now that people can see that the problem really is as big or bigger than what we originally thought."

The charges: fraud, extortion, even money laundering. The numbers involved are staggering. 16 moving companies indicted. 46 moving company owners, operators and employees under arrest, and the FBI is still looking for 28 more people. "This is one of the most, if not the most significant federal law enforcement attack on fraud and corruption in the household moving industry in the nation."

The corruption came in the form of carefully crafted schemes. Movers would lure customers with lowball moving estimates, then fraudulently jack up the price of the move and hold belongings hostage until customers paid the inflated price. If they refused to pay, their wordly possessions would be carted away. Now, it's the perpetrators themselves who are being carted off.

"Just getting these people off of the street sends a huge message. The perpetrators of this scam have long considered themselves to be untouchable to the point where they literally laugh if you tell them that you're gonna call the police, because they say, nobody's gonna do anything. And now that they know that something will be done, and it'll be something that they won't like, maybe they'll think twice about it."

One of the companies caught by the FBI is Advanced Moving System... who Tracy Glon hired to move her to Las Vegas from Chicago. "Right before they were going to take my last two items, I was suddenly told that there was not enough space on the truck and that I had to pay additional money in order for them to take the rest of my belongings."

Others indicted include Dolphin relocation Services, Elite Van Lines moving and storage and Star Van Lines... just to name a few. And although Tyrone Kelley had to get a search warrant to get his hostage goods out of storage, his mover was not on the list. "There were several of the large perpetrators that are still out there, that weren't rounded up. Now maybe they'll be smart enough to either start doing business legitimately or pack it up and hit the road."

The FBI says although only 16 companies were indicted, more were involved because many of the businesses used multiple names as complaints came pouring in. Another significant development in the fight against scam movers is newly introduced federal legislation that criminalizes the hostage load scam. It would also give states the right to enforce existing federal law.

Nevada's Attorney General tells us he's keenly aware that a major problem exists and looks forward to being better able to help consumers at the state level.