A New York-based man has been arrested and charged with allegedly stealing more than 33,000 pounds of frozen snow crab, pallets of blueberries, and more than $400,000 in designer cologne to sell for illicit profit.
In an apparent multi-state organized cargo-theft conspiracy, Romoy Forbes, 31, a Jamaican national living in Deer Park, N.Y., was arrested and charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and conspiracy to infiltrate email accounts of legitimate truck-load carriers, using the hacked accounts to book cargo with shippers, and then selling the items for illicit profit.
Worcester warehouse targeted
According to the charging documents, on July 15, 2025, Forbes allegedly stole 33,750 pounds of frozen snow crabs worth $325,000 from a warehouse that held the goods in Worcester, Mass.
Leading up to the theft, a co-conspirator allegedly hacked into the email account of a trucking carrier company (Carrier 1). The co-conspirator, pretending to work for Carrier 1, and using the email account of Carrier 1, allegedly contacted and contracted with Shipper 1, a transportation business, to ship the goods to a customer in Jacksonville, Fla. Forbes then allegedly arrived at the warehouse in Worcester pretending to work for Carrier 1, loaded the seafood into his truck and drove off.
Instead of delivering the seafood to the customer in Florida, Forbes allegedly transported it to the location of a grocery store business in Queens, N.Y., where Forbes took a picture of the pallets of packaged crabs with his cellphone.
Before the alleged seafood heist, however, Forbes, also allegedly stole a shipment of blueberries in Winslow Junction, N.J on June 25, 2025. Authorities claim a co-conspirator hacked into the email account of Carrier 2, a trucking carrier company, and, pretending to be Carrier 2, contacted and contracted with Shipper 2, a transportation business, to ship the goods to a customer in Illinois. Forbes then allegedly arrived at the warehouse that was holding the goods, and, pretending to work for Carrier 2, loaded the fruit into his truck and drove away.
Instead of delivering the blueberries to the customer in Illinois, Forbes allegedly arranged to illicitly sell the fruit to his phone contact named, “My customer for everything.”
Following the successful seafood heist, defendant next set sights on scents
After the seafood and blueberry thefts, in July 2025, Forbes then turned his sights on scents. According to the United States’ attorney office, he conspired to steal approximately $433,830 worth of cologne in Ronkonkama, N.Y.
Once again, a co-conspirator allegedly hacked into the email account of Carrier 3, a trucking carrier company, and, pretending to be Carrier 3, contracted with Shipper 3, a transportation business, to ship the goods to a customer in Los Angeles, Calif. Forbes then allegedly arrived to the warehouse that was holding the goods, and, pretending to work for Carrier 3, loaded the items into his truck and drove away.
Instead of delivering the fragrances to the customer in California, Forbes allegedly contacted his “customer for everything” offering to sell the cologne and sent the contact a video of the cologne, to which the contact replied, “Ok.”
Charges could lead to a sentence of up to 10 years in prison
The charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit that offense carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Forbes was arrested in Long Island, N.Y. on February 5, 2026 and will make his initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
As always the details from the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Photos courtesy of United States Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts
