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Freight crime rise puts forwarders under greater credit risk

By Sarah Brown

Criminals increasingly use cyber-enabled methods to compromise freight data

Marine

By Rod Bolivar

Nov 21, 2025Share

A rise in freight crime and cargo abandonment is putting the spotlight on the growing credit risk exposure facing freight forwarders, TT Club reported in new guidance urging logistics firms to tighten financial safeguards.

TT Club linked these incidents to ongoing market instability and to financial strain on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), noting that abandoned cargo, delayed payments and insolvency can leave forwarders with unpaid obligations. It said such cases add to the pressures already facing logistics firms that sit between global trade flows and local commercial operations.

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Read more: Freight crime in focus as industry calls for greater support

Mike Yarwood, TT Club’s managing director of loss prevention, said freight forwarders operate at a point where shipment coordination, customs management and delivery scheduling intersect with SME activity.

“However, this proximity also makes them vulnerable when clients default,” Yarwood added.

Recent industry data reinforces the scale of the threat environment. According to the Cargo Theft Tactics and Trends Report 2025 published by Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets, UK, criminal groups continued to target essential goods throughout 2024, with food and beverage products accounting for 22% of all recorded theft incidents, followed by agricultural goods (10%), electronics (9%) and fuel (7%). The report noted that hijackings made up 21% of incidents, theft of entire vehicles accounted for 20%, and thefts from facilities represented 16% of losses.

The Munich Re report also recorded widespread use of sophisticated tactics - including fraudulent carriers, falsified documentation, AI-assisted impersonation and remote system access - which enabled criminals to bypass authentication and security processes. These methods were observed in multiple regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, with strategic cargo theft accounting for about 18% of all incidents in the US in 2024.

The report stated that criminals increasingly use cyber-enabled methods to compromise freight data stored in cloud-based systems and to facilitate fictitious pickups and identity deception.

Yarwood said financial pressures on SMEs, including increased tariff activity across multiple jurisdictions, may result in payment delays or insolvency.

“The result is a heightened exposure to credit risk – an area traditionally under-appreciated in logistics operations,” said Yarwood.

TT Club recommends that forwarders review contractual terms, conduct more deliberate credit assessments and monitor developments affecting customer performance. It said legal liability insurance can serve as a financial buffer when a customer fails to meet obligations.

Yarwood added that the economic environment is unlikely to settle in the near term. He said forwarders have available measures to manage credit exposure, but these need to be applied without delay.

The combination of financial stress on SMEs, higher cargo crime rates and more complex criminal techniques continues to create operational and credit exposures for forwarders, TT Club said.

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The complaint cites Applied’s Epic agency management system as having more than 80% market share among enterprise insurance brokers and points to Applied’s ownership of Ivans, described as essential data infrastructure for both Epic competitors and customers.According to the complaint, Applied acquired Ivans in 2013 after promising to keep it an “open platform,” but Comulate alleges that Applied “broke that promise” and now controls “who gets access to Ivans, on what terms, and for how long.”The filing asserts that competitors in the agency management and connectivity space “survive at Applied’s pleasure” due to this control.Applied confident "empty allegations will fail"Update: Applied has issued a response to Comulate's filing. In its latest emailed statement toInsurance Business, a spokesperson called the lawsuit "predictable" and "retaliatory," noting that it serves as nothing more than a strategy "intended to deflect from its own corporate theft scheme.""Applied welcomes fair competition but will not tolerate outright theft. We will hold Comulate accountable for stealing our trade secrets and are confident Comulate’s empty allegations will fail," the spokesperson said.Related StoriesAI and human-in-the-loop: Applied Systems' smarter model for insurance data accuracyApplied Systems sues Comulate for alleged IP theft via fake agency front

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GEICO alleges $4 million no-fault pharmacy fraud scheme in Queens

It outlines alleged high-priced scheme exploiting New York no-fault systemClaimsBy Tez RomeroDec 01, 2025ShareGEICO is accusing a Queens pharmacy of a multimillion-dollar no-fault drug billing scheme built on high-priced pain medications and collusive referrals.In a filing dated November 26, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Government Employees Insurance Company, GEICO Indemnity Company, GEICO General Insurance Company and GEICO Casualty Company set out detailed allegations against United Pharmacy NYC Inc., its owner, Irina Alishayeva, two nurse practitioners, and a series of unnamed “John Doe” defendants.At the heart of the case is New York’s no-fault auto insurance system. GEICO alleges the defendants exploited individuals involved in motor vehicle accidents who were eligible for Personal Injury Protection benefits by systematically dispensing certain prescription drugs without regard to genuine patient care.According to the filing, the defendants submitted more than $4 million in pharmaceutical claims through United Pharmacy under GEICO policies. The insurer alleges that the pharmacy, working with prescribing providers and clinic controllers, overwhelmingly focused on a limited group of products: Lidocaine 5% Ointment, Diclofenac Sodium 2% Solution, Diclofenac Sodium Gel 3%, and Naproxen-Esomeprazole tablets.Those drugs, GEICO says, accounted for approximately 84 percent of the billing submitted through United Pharmacy to the company. The filing describes charges typically ranging from $1,887.13 to $2,358.92 per prescription of Diclofenac Sodium Gel 3%; $2,686.36 or $2,636.38 for Diclofenac Sodium 2% Solution; $1,218.97 to $1,904.65 for Lidocaine 5% Ointment; and $2,680.78 for Naproxen-Esomeprazole.The insurer alleges these pharmaceuticals were prescribed and dispensed pursuant to predetermined fraudulent protocols and unlawful, collusive referral arrangements, rather than individualized medical judgment. It also alleges the defendants intentionally targeted these high-priced products, acquired at low cost, in place of other effective but much less costly prescription and non-prescription drug products, including over-the-counter items that are not covered expenses under the no-fault laws.GEICO further describes what it characterizes as unlawful, collusive referral arrangements. The filing alleges that Alishayeva and United Pharmacy, together with unknown associates, entered into financial arrangements with nurse practitioners Gaetan Jean-Marie and Shai Bikel and with clinic controllers at multidisciplinary no-fault clinics. According to the filing, those arrangements led to large volumes of prescriptions for the same set of drugs being directed to United Pharmacy, including, in some instances, prescriptions that were illegal, invalid or unauthorized and issued using another provider’s credentials.For insurance professionals, the case also draws attention to New York’s pharmacy fee schedule. Under 12 N.Y.C.R.R. §§ 440.5(a) and (d), reimbursement is based on the Average Wholesale Price associated with a drug’s National Drug Code on the day of dispensing, minus a specified percentage, plus a single dispensing fee. GEICO alleges the defendants intentionally selected a specific set of pharmaceutical products with extremely expensive average wholesale prices that could be obtained at a fraction of that cost, enabling what the filing describes as “exorbitant charges” to insurers.GEICO states it has already paid approximately $2.3 million on United Pharmacy’s bills and that approximately $1.4 million in additional claims for the same types of products remain pending. The insurer is asking the court to declare that United Pharmacy has no right to payment for any pending bills for these pharmaceuticals, to order repayment of the amounts already paid under claims including common law fraud and unjust enrichment, and to award treble damages, costs and attorneys’ fees under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.These remain allegations drawn from GEICO’s filing. The court has not made findings on the facts, and no final determination has been issued on GEICO’s claims or on the defendants’ liability.Related StoriesFarmers Insurance accuses DME firms of $274k no-fault fraud schemeGEICO sues Brooklyn pharmacy over $3.5 million No-Fault fraud claims