CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — A suburban Chicago man was sentenced to five years in federal prison on May 6, 2026, for a three-year scheme in which he posed as a representative of both real and fictitious logistics companies to steal more than $10 million in interstate shipments, including commercial-grade copper and liquor.
Aivaras Zigmantas, 41, of Elk Grove Village, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud in December 2025. U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo imposed the 60-month sentence during a hearing in federal court in Chicago.
How the Scheme Worked
Between 2020 and 2023, Zigmantas used various aliases to fraudulently pose as employees of both legitimate and fictitious motor carriers and freight brokers. He induced companies to release shipments to him by misrepresenting himself as a logistics representative. Once the cargo was released, Zigmantas and others diverted the shipments from their intended destinations and stole the goods. Authorities say Zigmantas and his associates intended to steal at least $14.6 million in goods and successfully stole more than $10.1 million.
“Over the course of three years, defendant stole more than $10 million in shipments of copper and liquor by fraudulently posing as employees of both legitimate and fictitious logistics companies,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate McClelland. “He had the ability to make different choices, but refused to do so, resulting in increasingly serious criminal conduct and substantial losses to his victims.”
The case was investigated as part of the Department of Justice’s Trade Fraud Task Force and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, which was recently selected as a lead prosecutorial partner on the task force. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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