Chicago City Wire

Ryan Petersen, founder of Flexport, commented on a cargo issue in the Chicagoland area, saying it's "insane that this is happening in 2024, or maybe organized crime brazenly operating is just part of life nowadays." He made the statement in a July 12 post on X.

"Over the past week, dozens of motor carriers in the Chicagoland area have been holding loads of cargo hostage in demand for what are effectively ransom payments," said Petersen. "Insane that this is happening in 2024, or maybe organized crime brazenly operating is just part of life nowadays."

According to Petersen, these motor carriers are registered and maintain some operations in the U.S., but there are likely affiliations with individuals in Eastern Europe. "This is not the first time the group has committed these acts. Actors involved with this group have been involved in similar activities since at least 2018, becoming highly active each summer since 2021, with sporadic activity through the fall. Over that time period, the group has been reported for committing fraud on at least 170 shipments, causing substantial harm to the supply chain through theft, ransom payments and contamination of cargo," Petersen wrote in multiple posts on X.

Ryan Petersen's July 12 post on X | X

Petersen says the individuals behind the ransom demands know how the industry vets motor carriers, including older methods. These companies have acquired "tenured large motor carriers leaving the industry, or through operating entities as seemingly reputable motor carriers for years, keeping a roster of available entities, allowing them to occasionally sacrifice entities to collect ransom payments or steal cargo."

He calls for the freight industry to evolve its security measures to keep up with these threats. According to Petersen, Flexport’s Convoy platform has not been impacted by the recent surge of thefts. "Convoy was made aware of these same reported bad actors as far back as October ’22 when it experienced a hostage situation for two loads by a motor carrier. Fortunately, Convoy was able to avert negative outcomes for its customers through aggressive reporting to authorities compelling the actors to return the cargo intact," he wrote.

Ryan Petersen is also a partner at Founders Fund and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.