Six men, all with the last name Singh, worked together for a California trucking company accused in a theft conspiracy that involved picking up television sets worth $594,754.16 from a Portage warehouse but failing to deliver them to Sam’s Club warehouses in Illinois and Minnesota, court records show.
The Porter County Prosecutor’s office charged the six men in early June. All of them were at large until Lakhwant Singh, 27, of Fresno, was stopped Aug. 19 while driving a rig in Wayne County and arrested on the outstanding warrant from Porter County.
He is being held in Porter County Jail without bond, according to online jail records. He has not yet been scheduled for an initial hearing, according to online court records.
Harkirat Singh is identified in court documents as the owner of the now inactive JSW Trans, Inc., with an address out of his home in Fresno. He faces the most Level 5 felony charges with six counts each of conspiracy to commit theft and theft.
The other four, wanted on felony arrest warrants, are: Manpreet Singh of Manteca, Calif., two charges each of conspiracy to commit theft and theft; Daljeet Singh of Sacramento, Calif., on one charge each of conspiracy to commit theft and theft; Jasdeep Singh of Lathrop. Calif., on one theft charge; and Gorjit Singh, who lived at the same Fresno address as Harkirat, for conspiracy to commit theft and theft. They all worked for Harkirat Singh and are identified as the drivers who failed to deliver the loads.
It is not explained in court documents whether the six men who share the same last name are related. Singh is a common last name in India.
The charges and probable cause statement also don’t explain where the $594,754.16 worth of Vizio television sets from the six failed deliveries ended up.
It’s believed the same players could have been involved in similar-style thefts in other states.
“I have learned that several of these drivers are being investigated by other agencies around the country for doing the same thing while driving under a different company name while using the same vehicles,” said Portage Police Detective Sgt. Robert Nichols in a probable cause statement.
Nichols, who headed the local investigation, said he cannot comment on the case beyond the court documents.
The same crew was under investigation in Ohio and Manpreet Singh, driving for another company, is suspected in a theft of a shipment from Louisville on Oct. 3, 2024, James Christian of Walmart Global Investigations said in court papers. Christian forwarded the information from his investigation to the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Brian K. Smith of the special investigation unit for the Federal Motor Safety Administration said in charging documents that he is working with the FBI in Cleveland on a case involving connections with these drivers, as well as a cargo theft incident out of Memphis.
A probable cause statement filed in Porter Superior Court outlines how the trucks from JSW Trans Inc., owned by Harkirat Singh, picked up the Vizio television sets from the UNIS Warehouse, 6515 Ameriplex Drive in Portage, on Dec. 19 and 26, 2024, for delivery to Sam’s Club warehouses. Three of the deliveries were intended for Edwardsville, Illinois; two for Shakopee, Minnesota; and one for Oswego, Illinois.
A police report was initially filed by Omar Raja of GTS Transportation Corp., which subcontracted the job to JSW, Inc., on Jan. 3.
Raja had received emails from Harkirat Singh with paperwork purported to be “proof of delivery.” But Raja soon received phone calls from the Sam’s Club warehouses, asking why the deliveries were delayed.
Then Raja took a closer look at the proof of delivery paperwork and realized the papers were forged, according to charging documents.
Raja told police that he contacted Harkirat Singh, who replied that he must have sent the wrong paperwork and would “look into” why the television sets never arrived at their destination. Raja also chatted with Manpreet Singh, who picked up loads on Dec. 19 and Dec. 26. Manpreet Singh told Raja after he received the load on Dec. 26, he met another driver at a local Starbucks, who took the trailer from him, charges allege.
Nichols contacted Harkirat Singh by phone to ask what happened with the shipments. Harkirat Singh explained he was in India, where he had been visiting for two months. He promised to look into the matter when he returned to Fresno.
Harkirat Singh said JSW Trans, Inc. had seven drivers and owned five trucks.
“I asked Harkirat Singh the names of the drivers and he wouldn’t tell me. He indicated that he would investigate things when he gets back and tell me what he finds out,” Nichols said in his probable cause affidavit.
During the phone conversation, Nichols said he heard the sound of a GPS device giving information about a location in Indianapolis. Harkirat Singh explained that what Nichols heard was from another phone call that he was on.
Harkirat Singh soon hung up. Nichols tried repeatedly to call him back to no avail, charges state.
Nichols said he contacted Manpreet Singh and Darjeet Singh by phone, and both of them also hung up on him.
A check with the Federal Motor Safety Administration office found that JSW Trans, Inc. had its insurance cancelled on Jan. 10 and its ability to do any for-hire work was revoked on Feb. 18, charges state.
Nichols’ investigation involved reviewing video camera footage, tracking software and shipping records.
“The facts of the investigation show me that the drivers picked up the merchandise and signed for the shipments. Four of the drivers activated the Macropoint tracking software and drove near the delivery location but never entered the distribution center property based on entry logs,” Nichols wrote.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
