Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say an international cargo theft crew that allegedly siphoned off millions in goods from commercial shippers has been hit with a sweeping indictment unsealed Tuesday. Authorities say members of the network quietly diverted loads, stripped off tracking devices and pushed high-value merchandise onto the secondary market. Seven suspects were picked up around the country, and one man is still on the run, according to prosecutors.
Indictment and arrests
In a newly unsealed filing, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced conspiracy charges against eight men: Vagan Gulian, Zhirayr Gumruyan, Sevak Kocharian, Araik Setrakian, Vitaly Koshelan, Arkadiy Pastin, Jashanpreet Singh and Edgar Bezhanian. They are accused of conspiracy to transport and possess stolen merchandise, and prosecutors say the group stole at least approximately $10 million in goods while operating throughout the United States. Gulian, Gumruyan and Setrakian were arrested in California, Koshelan in Florida, Singh in Pennsylvania, and Pastin and Kocharian in New York, while Bezhanian remains at large, according to a press release from the Southern District of New York.
How investigators say the scheme worked
Prosecutors say the crew did not rely on smash-and-grab tactics, but on paperwork and impersonation. According to the indictment, members of the group posed as legitimate carriers, altered shipping documents, removed geolocation devices from trucks and trailers and then rerouted loads to warehouses and fences where the goods could be resold.
"Organized cargo theft is an attack on the integrity of our nation’s commercial supply chain and our markets more generally," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in announcing the charges. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. credited the FBI's Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force with helping dismantle what investigators describe as a sophisticated, coordinated enterprise. The same Southern District of New York release details the alleged playbook.
A growing, high-value threat
The alleged scheme lands at a time when this type of fraud-driven cargo crime is on the rise. Industry data show that the kind of deception outlined in the indictment has become more common: Verisk CargoNet reported that estimated U.S. cargo theft losses surged to nearly $725 million in 2025 as criminals shifted toward fewer but higher-value hits. The company also found that first-quarter 2026 incident counts stayed elevated while losses remained high, reflecting a move toward fraud-enabled thefts that exploit carrier identities and gaps in paperwork verification, a pattern prosecutors say mirrors this case. Verisk CargoNet published the figures.
Legal stakes
Federal conspiracy laws carry real prison time. The general conspiracy statute carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to 18 U.S.C., while extortion or Hobbs Act offenses can carry up to 20 years, under 18 U.S.C.. The indictment accuses all eight defendants of conspiracy to transport and possess stolen merchandise, and one defendant is charged with a separate extortion conspiracy count. Any sentence, if there are convictions or guilty pleas, will be set by a federal judge.
Whats next
The case is being handled by the SDNY General Crimes Unit and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Grossinger and David Steinbach, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Arraignments and initial court appearances are expected to take place in the districts where the arrests occurred. The FBI's New York office also touted the takedown in a post on X highlighting the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force's role, and agents say the investigation is still active as they chase additional leads and search for the remaining defendant. FBI New York on X
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