PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two people have been federally charged in a Florida-based moving company scheme in which, officials say, they held customers’ belongings for ransom, racking in more than $12 million.
Victims were from all over the country, including Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs.
Over the course of more than three years, federal authorities say Matthew Pardi and Ashley Lynn Hars, both of South Florida, created multiple aliases for their moving companies — some even stealing the identities of real businesses.
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According to the indictment, they claimed to be a family-owned business with more than 10 years of experience and satisfied customers. They also created fake five-star reviews on sites like Yelp and the Better Business Bureau.
An investigation discovered that once a customer was locked in, Pardi and Hars allegedly raised their prices before the move and after items were loaded on the truck. If a customer disagreed with their fees, they would refuse to deliver their belongings, the indictment says.
In all, their scheme amounted to more than $12 million.
Pardi and Hars were charged with wire fraud, interstate transportation of property obtained by fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
If convicted, they face a maximum of more than 300 years in prison, plus $6.25 million in fines.
Anyone who may have been a victim of Hars and Pardi’s scheme is asked to contact authorities at movingcompanyfraud@fbi.gov.
The defendants conducted business under the following names and websites, among others:
American Eagle Moving (americaneaglemoving.net)
Alliance Movers (alliancemoversinc.com)
Titan Moving and Storage (titanmovingandstorage.com)
First Call Relocations (firstcallrelocations.com)
Trans World Van Lines, Inc. (transworldvanlinesinc.com, transworldvanlines.net)
Safeway Moving System (safewaymovingsystem.com)
Gateway Moving and Storage (gatewaymovingand-storage.com)
Prestige Worldwide Moving (prestigeworldwidemoving.com)