Eight Indicted for Impersonating Shipping Carriers in Multi-State Retail Theft Ring

Eight people were indicted for conspiring to impersonate shipping carriers in a wide-ranging retail theft ring throughout the U.S. Northeast.

The charges allege the defendants used fraudulent shipment information of real shipping carriers and brokers, impersonated legitimate companies and stole nearly $5 million in goods from logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey. The goods were diverted to New York City for sale on the black market. The defendants allegedly interacted with other criminal syndicates, who conducted phishing scams to hack and steal the shipment information, according to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr.

His office says it has reason to believe there are other incidents of this alleged conduct, and the investigation remains ongoing.

The defendants, Murodullo Khasanov, Nodir Kobilov, Shavkatbek Mamadjanov, Rakhmiddin Abdullaev, Aleksey Vorobyev, Nizom Ismoilov, Doston Mardoev and Dilshod Nabiev were each charged with one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and varying counts of grand larceny in the second degree. Other charges include grand larceny in the first and second degrees and criminal possession of stolen property in the first and second degrees.

Charging documents show the defendants operated ring from October 2025 to April 2026, allegedly committing six thefts and stealing: $165,000 worth of lamb; $432,000 worth of cheese; $295,000 in beef; more than $266,000 in copper; and more than $3.3 million in cigarettes.

The defendants allegedly received the winning bids from hacker groups, and would then lease tractor trucks and affix the name and registration number of the real shipping carrier that was supposed to make the pickup. They would then drive to the logistics center, pick up the goods and coordinate further shipment into and through Manhattan, according to investigators.