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Chicago Freight Broker Files Federal Lawsuit Against Utah Rival Over Alleged Customer Diversion Scheme

Edge Logistics filed a 51-page federal complaint in Illinois alleging that Utah-based Freight Tec Management Group and four former employees orchestrated a customer theft scheme involving confidential data and inflated charges. The Chicago-based broker claims four workers in its expedited-freight division secretly established competing entities while employed, then transferred customer accounts to Bountiful-based Freight Tec before resigning. Edge's expedited division plummeted 66.4% in the weeks following their departures, despite 8% growth in other business segments. The lawsuit names former employees Nicholas Daglas, John Harlan, Andre Apiquian and Alexis Hersh, along with three companies allegedly established to operate as Freight Tec brokerage agents: Parlay Expedited LLC, Thorndale Logistics LLC and Freight Redefined LLC. Edge alleges the employees accessed proprietary information including shipping rates, pricing strategies and customer preferences. Freight Tec, founded in 1997, operates as a privately held brokerage with 51-200 employees. Todd Rowden, representing the defendants, disputed the allegations and challenged the legal sufficiency of Edge's claims.