A group of cargo thieves recently pleaded guilty to charges in federal court, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
A federal jury found Juan D. Perez-Gonzalez, 51, of Florida, guilty of conspiracy, possession of goods stolen from interstate commerce, and interstate transportation of stolen property for his role in a year-long conspiracy to steal millions of dollars in high-end electronics and other products from shipping facilities and trucks in southern Indiana and other states.
Five co-conspirators in this case have entered guilty pleas for their roles in the operation and will be sentenced at later dates. They include:
- Carlos Enrique Freire-Pifferrer, 46, of Louisville, Kentucky pleaded guilty to conspiracy; two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property
- Jose Antonio Gomez-Pifferrer, 33, of Louisville, Kentucky pleaded guilty to conspiracy; two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property
- Dalwy De Armas-Rodriguez, 38, of Louisville, Kentucky pleaded guilty to conspiract
- Luis Velazquez, 58, of Jacksonville, Florida pleaded guilty to conspiracy; interstate transportation of stolen property
- Richard Alameda, 47, of Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, between December 2021 and May 2023, Perez-Gonzalez and his co-conspirators conspired to steal tractor-trailers containing high-end electronics and other items, which they later resold.
The co-conspirators traveled from various locations, including Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio to target various distribution facilities used by national companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and L Brands. The group surveilled these facilities and followed tractor-trailers as they departed. When a driver stopped to rest, refuel, or park, the conspirators stole the entire tractor-trailer, according to the U.S. Attorney.
In many instances, the group abandoned the stolen tractor nearby and reattached the trailer to a different semi-tractor they operated. To evade law enforcement, they painted over logos and identifying numbers and used different license plates on the solen trailers.
They transported the stolen cargo to Miami, Florida, where it was sold to buyers, including co-defendant Richard Alameda, for a fraction of its retail value. The group carried out at least 14 separate cargo thefts, including:
- over $2 million in Oculus virtual reality headsets from a Meta facility
- $940,000 in Microsoft products
- $1 million in Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret merchandise
- $669,000 in Harmon-JBL audio products
- $180,000 in Logitech products
- $480,000 worth of Bose audio speakers
This is Perez-Gonzalez’s third federal conviction for cargo theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's statement. First, in 2009, he stole two semi-trailers loaded with $500,000 worth of liquor from a distribution facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He was convicted in the Western District of Kentucky and sentenced to 23 months in prison. Then, in 2014, while on supervised release for the 2009 offense, Perez-Gonzalez again engaged in a scheme to steal cargo from tractor-trailers, using nearly identical methods as the most recent offense. He was convicted in the Southern District of Indiana and sentenced to 105 months in prison.
