Here’s a legal puzzler. If you are employed in a company that has been doing wrong and you were just a desk clerk following orders. How responsible are you for the criminal behavior of the company that is based on policies developed by the management. This is legal question that was posed at the Nuremberg trials against Nazis working in death camps, and it is a question which could be raised again when employees of a moving company, who have been indicted for participating in a ring of extortion, and fraud, get their day in court.

Last year, 14 employees of AY Transit, were indicted as a result of a 3 year investigation by the FBI into a criminal moving scam. The indictment is alleging that the 14 participated in a scheme in which unsuspecting consumers were lured into doing business with the company by the offer of low moving prices. Once their household goods were in the possession of the movers, the company inflated the price, and extorted the customer to pay the higher sum by withholding delivery and access to their belongings until they received payment in full.

While the scam techniques, for which the company was indicted are now well known, what is startling, in this case, which is just now going to trial in California Federal Court, is that all the company personnel, from the manager, on down to the sales help, dispatcher, driver, loader and complaint manager were included in the indictment. This decision on the part of the justice department to include lesser employees in the indictment appears to reflect their belief that these other minor players share culpability with the originators of the moving fraud schemes, some of whom have fled the country to avoid standing trial.

Last November, one of the salesman, Matthew D. Sandomir pleaded guilty to charges in Federal Court and was sentenced to 3 years probation, 6 months home confinement and ordered to pay 30,000 in restitution. Considering the extent to which sales personnel are beholden to top management for every company policy, the court decision indicates how strongly the Government feels about punishing the perpetrators of the moving fraud schemes.

Up until now, there has been no indication that the question of minor employee culpability will be an issue raised at the trial, though this won’t be known for quite some time.

This report was sponsored by Packing Service Inc. Packing Service Inc. is a nationally based packing company, which is opposed to moving scam.

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