A Florida man has been found guilty of running a cargo theft operation that targeted truckers hauling loads for big national retailers like Meta and Microsoft.
What happened: From December 2021 to May 2023, Juan D. Perez-Gonzalez and his team followed trucks leaving distribution centers in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. They would wait until a trucker stopped—whether for fuel, rest, or parking—then steal the whole rig and switch out the tractor to hide the theft.
- The group painted over logos and swapped license plates on the stolen trailers to throw off law enforcement.
- Loads hit hardest included over $2 million in Meta VR headsets, nearly $1 million in Microsoft gear, and big batches of Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, Harmon-JBL, Logitech, and Bose products.
How it worked: After swiping the trailers, they hauled the goods to Florida and sold them for far less than retail. Five others in the scheme pleaded guilty, with sentencing dates set later this year.
History: This wasn't Perez-Gonzalez's first rodeo—he's been convicted on similar federal cargo theft charges twice before, including in 2009 and 2014, according to a Justice Department report.
He was found guilty of conspiracy and transporting stolen property across state lines. A sentencing date has not been set.