A New York man has been charged with conspiring to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of cargo and sell it for illegal profit. The suspected stolen items include beer worth around $35,200, 33,750 pounds of frozen snow crabs worth approximately $325,000, pallets of blueberries, and more than $430,000 in expensive perfume.
According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 31-year-old Romoy Forbes, a Jamaican national living in Deer Park, New York, has been charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and conspiracy to conduct that act. Forbes will appear on the indictment in federal court in Worcester at a later date. Forbes was previously detained on February 5, 2026, in Long Island, New York, following a complaint filed in the District of Massachusetts.
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According to the indictment, Forbes and his co-conspirators were able to take the products, in part, because of bogus emails sent to shippers. The emails were designed to appear to be sent by legitimate trucking carrier companies, offering and agreeing to accept and deliver products that the shippers had listed as in need of transportation.
Forbes reportedly obtained the frozen snow crab from a storage warehouse in Worcester, Mass., on behalf of a freight service company based in Maine, for delivery to a customer in Jacksonville, Fla. Forbes allegedly obtained the seafood by fraudulently pretending that he was acting on behalf of an Illinois-based trucking company. Instead of delivering the products to the intended consumer in Florida, Forbes allegedly took them to a loading dock in Queens, New York.
According to the criminal documents, on June 6, 2025, prior to the alleged seafood heist, Forbes allegedly obtained a cargo of beer worth roughly $35,200 from a brewery in Newark, New Jersey, to be delivered to a customer in Portland, Maine. Instead of delivering the beer to the intended consumer in Maine, Forbes allegedly drove it to Long Island, New York, where he gave it to someone in exchange for payment.
Furthermore, on June 26, 2025, Forbes allegedly obtained blueberries from a storage facility in Winslow Junction, New Jersey, for delivery to a customer in Illinois on behalf of a freight service company based in Maine by falsely representing that Forbes was acting on behalf of a trucking carrier company based in New Jersey. Forbes allegedly failed to deliver the fruit to the consumer. Instead, on June 27, 2025, a contact in Forbes’ cell phone named “My customer for everything” allegedly texted Forbes, “You bringing the blues,” to which Forbes texted, “Yes, just text me the address,” “We can do 4000 and I will bring it to you right now,” and “OK, so I will be there tomorrow to drop off the blueberries.”
Following the seafood, beer, and blueberry thefts, Forbes allegedly conspired to steal cologne in Ronkonkoma, N.Y., which was intended to be delivered to a customer in Los Angeles on behalf of a freight service company based in Illinois, by falsely claiming to be acting on behalf of an Illinois-based trucking carrier company. Instead of delivering the fragrances to the genuine buyer in California, Forbes allegedly called his “customer for everything” and offered to sell the cologne, sending the contact a video of the cologne to which the contact responded, “Ok.”
The offense of interstate transportation of stolen goods carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The accusation of conspiracy to commit that offense carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge imposes sentences based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the legislation that governs sentence determination in criminal cases.
United States Attorney Leah Foley and Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division, made the announcement. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York provided valuable help. Brendan O’Shea, Assistant United States Attorney for the Worcester Branch Office, is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that mobilizes the Department of Justice’s full resources to combat the invasion of illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from violent criminals. Operation Take Back America combines actions and resources from the department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The details in the charge document are allegations. The defendant is deemed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
