Orlando trucking owner pleads guilty to $1 million USPS freight‑auction fraud
Khayyam Arif Oglu Farajov, the Orlando‑based owner of Talishco LLC, pleaded guilty on Friday to one wire‑fraud count and one money‑laundering count in a scheme that collected more than $1 million. He agreed to forfeit the seized brokerage accounts and pay $993,979 in restitution, while each conviction carries a maximum federal prison sentence of 20 years.
Farajov enrolled Talishco in the USPS Freight Auction program in May 2022 and, between June 2022 and January 2023, won hundreds of contracts for bulk‑mail transportation. He repeatedly failed to send trucks for the routes he secured, offered excuses about missing drivers, and later falsely marked those shipments as delivered to trigger payments. The proceeds were moved through accounts linked to shell companies under his control and then invested in the stock market for personal enrichment. Federal investigators traced the funds, seized the two brokerage accounts, and the USPS Office of Inspector General led the investigation. USPS requires proof of delivery before paying Freight Auction suppliers, accepting tracking scans, electronic messages or manual submissions through its Logistics Gateway. However, the 2024 federal audit found that the agency did not properly verify those records before issuing payments.
The USPS launched the Freight Auction program in October 2021 to secure trucking capacity through competitive spot‑market bidding. A 2024 federal audit identified 102 participating transportation suppliers during fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The same audit found weaknesses in how the agency validated proof‑of‑delivery records, noting 69,225 paid trips worth about $197.9 million lacked reliable support.
What we know
The scheme collected more than $1 million.
Farajov enrolled Talishco in Freight Auction during May 2022.
Between June 2022 and January 2023, Farajov won hundreds of contracts while carrying out the fraudulent scheme.
He agreed to forfeit the seized brokerage accounts and pay another $993,979 in restitution.
Each conviction carries a maximum federal prison sentence of 20 years.