News Summary
Claudia Visona, a sales manager at Galleria Tile, fell victim to a sophisticated cargo theft scheme, resulting in almost $200,000 in losses. Scammers impersonated a major construction company’s employees, leading to an unauthorized flooring order without a deposit. The incident has jeopardized the family-owned business, highlighting a troubling trend in rising cargo thefts across the nation.
San Francisco, California — Claudia Visona, a sales manager at Galleria Tile, has fallen victim to an elaborate cargo theft scheme, leading to losses of nearly $200,000 in high-end flooring materials. The fraudulent plan involved scammers impersonating employees of AECOM, a major construction firm, tricking Visona into fulfilling a bogus flooring order.
The scheme significantly impacted Visona’s family-owned business, which has operated for three generations. The loss of $175,000 in tile and luxury vinyl plank flooring has placed the firm on the brink of bankruptcy. The situation escalated when a man pretending to be an AECOM employee, identified as Johnny Kwok, placed a rush order without the standard 50 percent deposit. The scammer persuaded Visona to accept net-30 terms, assuring her that payment would be processed within 30 days following the invoice.
Kwok supplied Visona with convincing paperwork and a credit application, which fostered her trust and led her to ship an initial order of 25,000 square feet of tile to a storage facility in northeast Baltimore. When she later followed up regarding payment, the scammer manipulated the situation further by ordering an additional 41,000 square feet of luxury vinyl plank, reiterating that both shipments would be compensated by September 26. However, the promised payment never materialized.
Worried about the repercussions on her business, Visona enlisted a private investigator to check the legitimacy of the delivery location and ascertain the order with AECOM. Despite contacting individuals thought to be delivery drivers for AECOM, the investigator was unable to validate the orders at AECOM’s Baltimore offices. Visona proceeded with the second shipment only to discover that the buyer had ceased all communication, culminating in her eventually incurring a total loss exceeding $175,000.
Subsequent investigations revealed that AECOM’s security office confirmed no employee by the name of Johnny Kwok worked there, exposing the fraudulent deception. The scammers utilized a fake email domain, aecom-usa, and an imitation website to pose as the legitimate construction company.
Visona has lodged police reports with local authorities; however, recovery actions to reclaim the lost funds have made little headway. The incident highlights a disturbing trend in cargo theft across the nation, with incidents expected to reach record levels in 2025. Experts have noted that recovery rates for stolen cargo remain low, contributing to the growing concern surrounding such criminal activities.
According to data from CargoNet, the second quarter of 2025 exhibited a 13 percent uptick in supply chain theft incidents compared to the same timeframe in 2024, alongside a 10 percent rise since the start of the year. The average loss per theft has also surged, now sitting at $312,356. Notably, theft by deception has grown to account for about one-third of all cargo theft reports in the U.S.
In light of these worrying statistics, experts recommend that businesses implement stringent verification measures for orders. Suggestions include contacting company CFOs directly and utilizing trusted communication channels to mitigate risks. In response to the rising threat, federal lawmakers have introduced the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA), which aims to enhance penalties for cargo theft and create a national coordination center for law enforcement.
Individuals who encounter cargo theft are advised to contact their local law enforcement, reach out to their insurance carrier for support, and utilize the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s hotline for assistance. As cargo theft continues to rise throughout the nation, businesses and individuals alike are urged to remain vigilant to protect their assets.
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Additional Resources
- WMAR2 News: California business loses $175K in flooring shipped to Baltimore in cargo theft scam
- CBS News: Freight train cargo thefts fuel lucrative underground business, official says
- Truckers News: Freight recession, cargo theft among top trucking stories of 2024
- Wikipedia: Cargo theft
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Theft
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