Dema Sentenced for Trucking Company Skimming Scheme

New York man Dilshod Sidikov, also known as ‘Dema’, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to repay $1.5 million after being convicted of skimming over $1.7 million from trucking companies.

The sentencing was announced by Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Marlon Miller, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit. Sidikov, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

‘Criminal enterprises are constantly coming up with new ways to rip off companies,’ Dettelbach said. ‘This group tried to turn truck stops into their own personal ATMs. We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to stamp out these schemes.’

Miller added, ‘Criminal groups are under the false impression that money-transfer scams crimes are low risk and high reward. Today’s significant sentencing underscores the very real consequences of participating in these types of schemes.’

Sidikov and his conspirators obtained account numbers and codes used by trucking companies to wire money to drivers between February 2011 and November 2012. They then posed as truck drivers at truck stops, using stolen account information to obtain checks from electronic fund processing companies like Comdata, Fleet One, and TCH.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with twenty-six people found guilty of related crimes in the conspiracy.