‘A very sophisticated crime’: $400K in seafood stolen in transit to Costco
Dec 31, 2025, 12:15 PM
A lobster is briefly removed from holding tanks to be inspected. (Photo: Ian Forsyth, Getty Images)
(Photo: Ian Forsyth, Getty Images)
Two heists have left Costco searching for $400,000 worth of oysters and lobster stolen during transit to its stores in Illinois and Minnesota.
Both thefts occurred in Taunton, Massachusetts on Dec. 2 and Dec. 12, where the thieves used a fraudulent trucking company to arrange a pickup from the Lineage Logistics warehouse, according to KIRO 7.
“The carrier we hired impersonated a real carrier,” said Dylan Rexing, CEO of Rexing Companies. “They had a spoofed email address. They changed the name on the side of the truck. They made a fake certified driver’s license. It’s a very sophisticated crime.”
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Costco victim of $400K seafood heist in Massachusetts
Rexing’s business handles coordinating product shipments for manufacturing companies and, in this case, planned to transport the seafood from a processor to Costco via a carrier.
Similar cargo thefts have been an issue in the trade for more than a decade, according to Rexing, but have been much worse in recent years.
“It happens every day, multiple times a day,” Rexing said. “This is a massive growing problem that needs to get addressed.”
Chris Burroughs, president and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, categorized cargo theft into two types. Burroughs noted this instance was the first type where someone impersonates a legitimate trucking company and follows through on the theft of a product.
The latter is known as strategic theft, which oftentimes involves a thief using phishing emails to gain access to a computer system and receive money without stealing the actual product.
“We believe it’s a crime organization,” Rexing told The Seattle Times in a phone interview. “It will definitely hit our pocketbook in one way, shape, or form. It puts a scar on our reputation.”
Furthermore, Rexing believed the stolen seafood had likely already reached restaurants and would ultimately harm consumers.
“Whether you eat seafood or not, they’re stealing other items. They’re stealing items to build your cars. They’re stealing items that go into computers,” Rexing said, according to KIRO 7. “Ultimately, that cost gets thrown to the consumer.”
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