Class action claims moving companies kept belongings until consumers paid increased prices

Moving companies class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Laszlo G. Peterfai and Jane Peterfai filed a class action lawsuit against a number of interstate moving companies, including USA Movers, Hercules Moving Solutions and Monopoly Moving LLC, among others. 
• Why: Laszlo and Jane Peterfai claim the moving companies work together to defraud and extort consumers by allegedly holding their property and possessions for cash ransom or converting it “for their own benefit and use.” 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

A group of interstate moving companies have been defrauding and extorting unsuspecting consumers by holding their property and possessions for cash ransom, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Laszlo G. Peterfai and Jane Peterfai claim the moving companies, including USA Movers, Hercules Moving Solutions and Monopoly Moving LLC, among others, are “operating an illegal enterprise under the guise of legitimate moving companies/brokers.” 

The plaintiffs argue the moving companies hold the property and possessions of their customers for cash ransom or take property entrusted to them and convert it “for their own benefit and use.” 

The moving companies also fail to properly care for the property and possessions entrusted to them by their customers, who allegedly only recover it at all after they “scrabble to gather cash and money orders to pay Defendants’ ransom demand.” 

“Defendants delivered much of Plaintiffs’ property and possession (and the property of others similarly situated) in shambles and damaged, with boxes ransacked, items broken, and property missing,” the class action states. 

Hercules Moving Solutions worked with other companies to extort moving couple, class action says

The plaintiffs claim that, after signing a moving contract with Hercules, threats from movers with other companies caused the couple to have to spend $17,500 more than they had originally agreed to. 

“Defendant Hercules operated and continues to operate with all of the other Defendants to capture consumers’ moving business by convincing them to enter into ‘Binding Moving Estimates’ via email, telephone and websites so that Defendants can load consumers’ property on to trucks intending to steal it, sell it, and/or extort consumers,” the class action states. 

The plaintiffs claim the movers are guilty of negligence and conversion/civil theft, among other things, and of violating unfair competition laws and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of compensatory, special, general and punitive damages for themselves and all class members. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against New Era in April 2021 over claims the moving company held hostage for cash ransom the cherished family heirlooms of customers after loading the property into its moving trucks. 

Have you had your property held for cash ransom by an interstate moving company? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Deborah L. Raymond of the Raymond Law Offices APC. 

The Moving companies class action lawsuit is Peterfai v. USA Logistics Inc., et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-01695, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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