ROCHESTER, NY — Tony Kirik, 39, of Rochester, New York, is facing criminal charges for allegedly making false statements to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and conspiring to do the same. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that according to the criminal complaint, Kirik owned and controlled a trucking business called Dallas Logistics. The company was put in the name of a nominee owner to conceal the fact that it was affiliated with another trucking company, Orange Transportation, that Kirik also controlled.
Orange Transportation had received a negative rating from the Department of Transportation, and that negative rating would have been applied to Dallas Logistics had the true relationship between the two entities been disclosed to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. To prevent the government from learning that the two entities were related and affiliated, Kirik directed his employees to create and present false documents and representations to the FMCSA.
The defendant made an initial appearance on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and was released.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by special agents of the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas Shoemaker, Northeast Region, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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