Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/1002866
18 | Overdrive | July 2018 Logbook Police in Illinois last month arrested a Wisconsin owner-operator they say used a slingshot and metal ball bearings to shoot out windows in numerous vehicles he passed while driving on Interstate 74. Illinois State Police arrested Kevin Casey, 53, of Janesville, Wisconsin, for aggravated battery to a child, aggravat- ed battery on a public way and criminal damage to property. Police said they received 45 reports of damage to vehicles, mostly minivans, on I-74 in Cham- paign and Vermilion counties and believe similar incidents may have occurred in other states. The incidents became the focus of social media attention after a child was injured. A Monticello woman posted to Facebook that her 3-year-old son was cut by glass May 2 when a window in their minivan shattered. Casey was arrested after police saw him using a slingshot to damage the driver's side window of a minivan headed east on I-74. When searching his truck, they found a slingshot, ball bearings and items to make slingshots. Casey's bond was set at $2 million based on his prior convictions of sexual assault of a child in 1998 and domestic battery in 1994. – David Hollis Trucker accused in slingshot spree Kevin Casey Fraud case could yield payments to truckers The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked defendants in a trucking services fraud case to provide the names of additional complainants as the agency determines if anyone will receive part of a $900,000 settlement, said agency spokesman Frank Dorman. The settlement, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Southern Florida, was reached with James Lamb, business partner Uliana Bogash and businesses they run. The payment was made by one of those businesses, Excelsior Enterprises International. Bogash is owner and sole officer of Ex- celsior and DOTFilings.com, another entity named in the settlement, said Ari Rothman, an attorney for Excelsior. FTC's 2016 complaint that launched the case said the four "Cor- porate Defendants" (DOTAuthority. com and JPL Enterprises being the other two) "have operated as a com- mon enterprise while engaging in the deceptive acts and practices alleged." Announced in March, the settle- ment says FTC can determine if the $900,000 can "be used for equitable relief, including consumer redress" for those who complained they were tricked by the defendants into paying for federal and state motor carrier registration services. FTC submitted 15 sworn consumer declarations over the course of the case, said Dorman. The agency alleges Lamb and Bogash scammed thousands of own- er-operators out of an estimated $20 million, saying they used "robocalls, emails and text messages that create and reinforce the false impression that they are, or are affiliated with, the U.S. DOT, the [Unified Carrier Registra- tion] system or another government agency." FTC also alleged "that many consumers who paid the defendants' UCR fees were automatically en- rolled, without their knowledge," in an annual fee renewal program. Lamb claims the defendants' work was legal and he only assisted own- er-operators with U.S. Department of Transportation- and state-required business filings. He says it was clear he was acting as a third-party service, not a DOT affiliate. – Max Heine Illinois State Police About 540 truck drivers turned out for the 29th annu- al Mother's Day Truck Con- voy to benefit Make-A-Wish of Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valley. Sponsored by the Road- Pro Family of Brands, the May 13 convoy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, raised a record $501,387, enough to grant wishes for 50 children facing life-threatening illnesses. Dennis Heron, president and chief executive officer of the Make-A-Wish chapter, said the convoy means "ev- erything" to the organization, but it means even more to the greater Lancaster community. "For 29 years, they have grown accustomed to the con- voy being part of Mother's Day," Heron said. "It's not always about the money, it's about the community coming together and recognizing there are deserving children in their community that de- serve to be supported through this event." – David Hollis MAKE-A-WISH CONVOY RAISES RECORD AMOUNT David Hollis Keith Wagner, a 38-year trucking vet- eran, led the convoy after raising the most money out of all participating drivers, $22,000. The trailer Wagner was pulling had dozens of stars on its sides, each with the name of a Wish child who has died, including his granddaughter, Harley W.