Six carriers file RICO suit against C.H. Robinson and TQL over chameleon carriers

Six family-owned trucking companies filed a federal RICO lawsuit on September 23 in Texas federal court against two of the country's largest freight brokers, C.H. Robinson and Total Quality Logistics, alleging the brokers funneled freight to illegal "chameleon carriers" at rates compliant carriers cannot survive on.

The plaintiffs — Stevens Trucking Co; Western Flyer Express LLC; D & M Carriers LLC, or Freymiller Trucking; IWX Motor Freight LLC; Christenson Transportation Inc; and E.O.S. Inc — allege the brokers diverted loads to "fly-by-night companies registered under fake addresses who are severely underinsured; recruit and exploit foreign drivers through forced labor; disregard safety regulations; falsify logbooks; and cause a disproportionately high number of crashes and fatalities." The complaint alleges these carriers know they are contacting chameleon companies — outfits that simply reopen under a new name after being shut down for safety violations — and that lawful carriers are experiencing massive losses, with many being forced to close.

"TQL and C.H. Robinson set the price and illegal carriers accept these bargain-basement bids often with no questions asked," the complaint states, adding that the defendants' bids "are too low to be profitable for legally operating drivers," which "drives profit margins down for the entire market." Attorney Trey Duck, representing the family-owned carriers, said the defendants have "driven hard-working American trucking companies out of business."

C.H. Robinson "strongly rejects" the allegations. "No freight broker sets rates. The marketplace does," Chief Legal Officer Dorothy Capers wrote in a statement, adding that all carriers it works with are authorized by the federal government and meet higher safety and insurance standards than legally required. The company says it will "defend vigorously and pursue counterclaims supported by real facts and the law."

Why it matters

This is a lawsuit, not a verdict — every claim above is an allegation in a complaint, and C.H. Robinson flatly denies it. But if even part of the picture holds, it explains why compliant carriers keep losing lanes to rates they can't touch. Cases like this are also how chameleon-carrier enforcement usually starts: in court, years before regulators catch up. Watch the docket.