North Dakota Crackdown Grounds 122 Trucks as Bulk-Mail Fraudster Convicted
North Dakota blitz puts 122 out of service; bulk-mail contractor pleads guilty to fraud
Federal, state and local agencies identified 122 out-of-service violations during a recent commercial vehicle safety operation in Williston, North Dakota. The inspection effort also produced 494 total violations and 47 enforcement actions, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The operation involved FMCSA, the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Watford City Police Department and the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office. The agencies worked together to inspect commercial vehicles and drivers operating in the Williston area.
Williston operation included hazardous-materials checks
Inspectors conducted 109 inspections, including 20 checks involving hazardous materials. In total, they documented 494 violations. The operation resulted in 27 citations and 20 warnings, along with the 122 out-of-service violations.
An out-of-service violation is a condition serious enough to prevent a driver or commercial motor vehicle from continuing until the issue is corrected. Depending on the circumstances, that can mean a truck is held until a repair is made or a driver is removed from service for a qualification, hours-of-service or other safety violation.
The agencies did not release a breakdown of the violations by category. That means the available results do not show how many involved brakes, lighting, tires, cargo securement, hours of service, driver qualifications or hazardous-materials compliance.
North Dakota has ranked among the states with the highest concentration of vehicle-related violations in industry tracking based on inspection trends. The state has ranked second nationally for maintenance-related vehicle violation intensity, behind Texas, and first in brake-related violations, according to data cited by Overdrive.
For drivers and carriers, the inspection results underscore the importance of completing thorough pre-trip and post-trip inspections, addressing defects before dispatch and maintaining required records. A roadside inspection can also interrupt a load, create delays and lead to additional costs when a vehicle or driver is placed out of service.
USPS freight contractor pleads guilty in bulk-mail scheme
In a separate case, a Florida trucking and freight brokerage company owner pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after using the U.S. Postal Service’s freight-auction system to obtain payments for mail-hauling contracts he did not perform.
Khayyam Arif Oglu Farajov, 40, owned and operated Talishco LLC in Orlando, Florida. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the plea agreement, Farajov enrolled the company in the USPS “Freight Auction” program in May 2022.
Between June 2022 and January 2023, he bid on and received hundreds of contracts to transport bulk mail across the country. Prosecutors said he routinely did not dispatch trucks to complete the routes. When USPS personnel asked about the missing trucks, he allegedly provided false explanations, including claims that he had lost contact with drivers or that the drivers were delayed.
The Postal Service then reassigned the work to other carriers. Farajov subsequently marked the loads as delivered in the freight-auction system, even though the routes had not been completed, and triggered payments from USPS.
The scheme generated more than $1 million, according to the government. Prosecutors said Farajov moved the money through bank accounts connected to shell companies before consolidating the proceeds in two personal investment brokerage accounts. The government traced and seized the brokerage accounts.
Farajov agreed to forfeit the seized accounts and pay an additional $993,979 in restitution to USPS. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date had not been set as of the announcement.
The case illustrates the financial and operational risks created when freight is accepted without the equipment, drivers or capacity needed to complete it. For legitimate carriers, falsely accepting and reporting loads can also disrupt transportation networks by forcing other fleets to cover missed routes on short notice.
Freightliner M2 trucks recalled over potential fire hazard
Approximately 24 Freightliner Business Class M2 vehicles are being recalled because underbody insulation may contact hot exhaust components. The condition could increase the risk of a vehicle fire.
The recall covers certain 2025 through 2027 model-year trucks equipped with a specific gasoline-engine and underbody-insulation configuration. Daimler Truck North America is developing the remedy.
Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Nov. 30. Owners can contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 and reference recall number F1041. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall number is 26V-635.
Love’s adds parking in Casper, Wyoming
Drivers traveling through eastern Wyoming have a new parking option with the opening of a Love’s Travel Stop in Casper at 3387 North Poplar Street, near Exit 191 on Interstate 25.
The location includes 52 truck parking spaces, six diesel bays, four showers, a Hardee’s restaurant and Love’s fresh-food offerings. Love’s said it has added 1,314 truck parking spaces nationwide so far in 2026.
Wyoming ranked sixth in Overdrive’s 2025 Truckers’ Highway Report Card for truck-parking availability. The new Casper location adds capacity along a heavily traveled interstate corridor where parking availability remains an important consideration for drivers planning their hours of service.
