Trucking company owner indicted in alleged $105.9 million lease Ponzi scheme

Kristopher Lunsford, 46, of Henderson, Nevada, has been indicted on six counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering over an alleged truck-leasing investment scheme, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe of the Middle District of Florida announced. Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of $105,940,214.93.

Between December 2023 and May 2025, Lunsford and others allegedly solicited hundreds of investors to buy semi-truck "leases" priced from $25,000 to $40,000 per truck, promising guaranteed weekly payouts of $1,000 to $1,250 in passive income. Prosecutors say about $75 million of new investors' money went to pay earlier investors, more than $25 million funded his personal spending — real estate, sports cars, jewelry, private charters, casinos and nightclubs — and only about $2 million went to actual business operations.

Lunsford faces up to 20 years per wire-fraud count and 10 years per money-laundering count. The SEC filed a parallel civil action against Lunsford, AKL Transport LLC and Southern Truck Leasing LLC; the FBI investigated.

Why it matters: "Guaranteed weekly payouts" from truck leases is a pitch worth a second look — this case shows what happens when the trucks behind the pitch barely exist.