A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after federal prosecutors said he helped steal more than $10 million in interstate freight by posing as legitimate carriers and brokers.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, 41-year-old Aivaras Zigmantas used multiple aliases between 2020 and 2023 to gain control of shipments moving across state lines. Prosecutors said the scheme relied on impersonating both real and fake logistics companies in order to convince victims to release freight.
The stolen shipments included liquor and commercial-grade copper. Authorities said the group intended to steal at least $14.6 million in goods and successfully stole more than $10.1 million before the operation was stopped…