by Alex Lloyd Gross
When you hire a moving company, you are essentially hiring them to take a huge problem away during a relocation. You agree on a price to move your possessions from point A “to” point “B”. They are expected to arrive at a pre determined time and you should not be worrying about that aspect. Unfortunately, federal authorities say that two Florida residents, Matthew Pardi, 37, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Ashley Lynn Hars, of Plantation, FL, and Pardi’s wholly owned corporation, Proud American Vanlines, LLC, formerly known as Moving Accounting Department, LLC, were charged by Indictment with wire fraud, interstate transportation of property obtained by fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme in which they held customers’ belongings for ransom.
The scam worked like this, authorities said. A customer agrees to pay an amount ( say $3000.00) for the move. The defendants are accused to inflating the cost of the move both before property was loaded onto the truck and after. That $3000.00 quote was now increased to more money. If the customer did not pay, or refused to pay, the possessions were held as ransom. If the customer refused to pay, the company refused to deliver the furniture and what was on the truck. This tactic was in clear violation of federal regulations, said US Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams,.
As part of this scheme, the defendants and their associates created and did business under the following Pardi Company names and websites: American Eagle Moving (americaneaglemoving.net); Alliance Movers (alliancemoversinc.com); Titan Moving and Storage (titanmovingandstorage.com); First Call Relocations (firstcallrelocations.com); Trans World Van Lines, Inc. (transworldvanlinesinc.com, transworldvanlines.net); Safeway Moving System (safewaymovingsystem.com); Gateway Moving and Storage (gatewaymovingand-storage.com); and Prestige Worldwide Moving (prestigeworldwidemoving.com), among others. They left in their wake victims from all over the country, including many from Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs.
“Fraudsters can try to use multiple aliases behind which to hide their fraud, and various ways by which to manipulate public reviews, so as to fool even people who were doing their due diligence,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire. “The bottom line is, together with our law enforcement partners, the FBI will still find you. And as we do our work to bring the criminals to justice, we remind the public that research and awareness are still the best forms of protection. Before contracting with a moving company, be sure to search reviews, seek recommendations from those you trust, and obtain bids from multiple sources. Don’t let price drive your decision, or it could end up costing you far more than you imagine. If you were victimized by any of the Pardi Companies listed in the indictment, we want to hear from you at movingcompanyfraud@fbi.gov.
According to the indictment, the companies used fake reviews and fake ratings both on their own websites and on sites like the Better Business Bureau