Brooklyn moving firm worker sentenced for fraud, keeping customers' goods hostage

An employee of a Brooklyn moving company was sentenced to two years in prison and a $100,000 forfeiture for his role in a scheme to keep customers' belongings hostage in an attempt to get them to pay more.

Andre Prince, 45, of Taramac, Florida, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in December 2023. He worked as a senior sales representative for a series of moving companies operating under multiple names from at least January 2017 to August 2020, posting fake reviews online to entice customers.

After a customer signed a contract, new surprise fees and expenses would be announced, the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office said in a release.

In some cases, customers weren't informed about the extra costs until their stuff was loaded onto a truck. Customers who tried to call sales personnel like Prince about the fees found they couldn't be reached, and the movers kept the goods hostage until the money was paid. Some fees ballooned the price of a move to double or triple the original price promised.

In total, Prince and other co-defendants defrauded over 800 victims of more than $3 million.

"The defendant enticed victims to use the moving companies he worked for and then held their belongings hostage to substantially higher prices and the threat of auctioning them off unless they agreed to the fraudulent demands. … It is Prince who will be moving — to a federal prison," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.

Fellow defendant Kristy Mak, 34, of Plantation, Florida, worked as a customer service representative for the moving companies and is still awaiting sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Yakov Moroz, the defendant alleged to have run the companies, fled while on pretrial release in January and is considered a fugitive.

Law enforcement sources told New York's Daily News that Mr. Moroz is believed to be hiding in Israel.

A fourth defendant, Kristen Smith, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2023 and was sentenced to time served, according to The New York Times.