Morris Co. Moving Company Extorted Customers For Extra Fees, Kept Their Stuff: Feds

ROCKAWAY, NJ — A Morris County moving company extorted customers for drastically higher fees than originally promised, according to federal authorities. When customers refused, the company would sometimes hold their items for months, the office of U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Three co-conspirators who ran 11Even Movers & Storage, which has a Rockaway warehouse, face federal charges, authorities said.

Brothers Abdal and Abdahl Abuawad created the company and employed Yousef AlMallad as a manager, according to court documents. Customers often arranged relocation or moving services through a household goods broker that provided them with an estimated cost for the services, authorities said.

Representatives of 11Even, including Abdal Abuawad and AlMallad, would then arrive at the customers' homes for the moves, officials said. After loading customers' goods onto the truck, employees would then drastically raise the price, sometimes to triple the quoted estimate, according to authorities. Then they'd demand that the customer pay at least 50 percent of the inflated cost in cash at that time, court documents say.

After demanding a higher price, 11Even regularly held onto customers' goods for months at a time or didn't deliver them at all, authorities said. 11Even often told customers they were looking into complaints but then never answered subsequent calls or texts, according to officials.

The Abuawad and AlMallad — all Paterson residents — were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, the crime carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain/loss, whichever is greatest.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the alleged conspiracy can contact the FBI at 11evenvictims@fbi.gov.

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