Investigations

Following a five-week trial, Eric Deri, former owner of Nationwide Moving System, LLC (Nationwide), Woodinville, WA, and two ex-foremen, Yosef Naham and Yuval Derei, were convicted in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington on multiple counts of conspiracy and extortion. The felony charges stem from their roles in a scheme to extort money from the company’s customers by low-balling moving estimates and later charging large amounts - often after having held customers’ possessions hostage. The case involves over 50 customers whose monetary losses exceed $1 million. Sentencing is set for January 10, 2005. Three other Nationwide employees who pled guilty to extortion earlier this year are scheduled for sentencing on January 7, 2005. This investigation was conducted jointly with the USCIS and Washington State Attorney General’s office, with assistance from FMCSA.