5 arrested in Las Vegas, Florida in moving company fraud scheme
Law enforcement officials in Las Vegas and Florida arrested five people this week in connection with a scam police said was carried out by employees of moving companies.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s financial crimes section began investigating the scam in December, police said in a statement Friday afternoon. The scheme was connected to “several moving companies and brokerage firms” in the U.S., including Konami Moving and Storage in Las Vegas and Coastal Moving Group in West Palm Beach, Florida.
People hired the moving companies after agreeing to a “low-cost moving rate and signing a contract,” then the employees would “demand that the victims sign a new contract for a much higher price or risk losing their property,” police said.
“If the victim did not pay the new price, the employees would in some cases steal the victims’ household goods and sell them,” Metro said.
On Wednesday, officials in Las Vegas and West Palm Beach arrested Oz Malka, 48; Aviv Mordechai, 42; Mario Samson, 48; Ashley Roybal, 30; and Eric Gilleland, 25. They face multiple fraud and theft charges, police said.
Metro investigated the case with the Las Vegas and West Palm Beach FBI field offices.
Anyone who believed they were a victim of the scam can contact Metro’s financial crimes section at 702-828-3483. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
