Texas trucking owner indicted in scheme involving 57 unauthorized drivers 

A Texas trucking company owner has been indicted on federal charges from an alleged scheme to employ unauthorized foreign drivers to transport domestic freight across the U.S., saving his company nearly $300,000 in labor costs.

Armando Martinez Varela, 56, of Laredo, Texas, owned VMS Transport LLC, which prosecutors allege recruited drivers admitted into the U.S. under B-1 nonimmigrant visa status to perform domestic trucking work they were not authorized to undertake.

VMS Transport LLC records allegedly showed that 57 B-1 visa drivers completed 1,044 domestic transportation trips between Feb. 20 and May 15, according to an announcement on Tuesday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

The drivers picked up trailers in Laredo and delivered freight to destinations throughout the U.S., federal prosecutors said.

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