A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after federal prosecutors said he helped steal more than $10 million in interstate freight by posing as legitimate carriers and brokers. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, 41-year-old Aivaras Zigmantas used multiple aliases between 2020 and 2023 to gain control of shipments moving across state lines. Prosecutors said the scheme relied on impersonating both real and fake logistics companies in order to convince victims to release freight. The stolen shipments included liquor and commercial-grade copper. Authorities said the group intended to steal at least $14.6 million in goods and successfully stole more than $10.1 million before the operation was stopped. Zigmantas pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges in December 2025. U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo sentenced him this week to 60 months in federal prison. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(‘/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1’, [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], ‘div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0’).defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0’); }); the theft started with identity, not force The case highlights a growing pattern across the transportation industry. Many modern cargo theft cases no longer begin with a stolen truck or warehouse break-in. They begin with identity manipulation. According to prosecutors, Zigmantas falsely presented himself as a representative of carriers and brokers offering transportation services. Once the freight was released, the shipments were diverted away from their intended destinations and stolen. That method continues to appear across the industry.…
