CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (National Fraud Enforcement Division), published as received.
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing more than $10 million in goods, including liquor and commercial-grade copper, from interstate shipments.
From 2020 to 2023, AIVARAS ZIGMANTAS used various aliases to falsely pose as a representative of real and fictitious carriers and brokers that offered to transport shipments across state lines. After fraudulently inducing individuals and entities to release shipments of goods to him, Zigmantas and others diverted the shipments from their intended destinations and stole the goods.
Zigmantas and others intended to steal at least $14.6 million in goods and successfully stole more than $10.1 million.
Zigmantas, 41, of Elk Grove Village, Ill., pleaded guilty in December 2025 to a federal wire fraud charge. U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo imposed the 60-month prison sentence during a hearing on Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Homeland Security Investigations, and Michael J. Pfeiffer, Acting Director of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“Over the course of three years, defendant stole more than $10 million in shipments of copper and liquor by fraudulently posing as employees of both legitimate and fictitious logistics companies,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate McClelland argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “He had the ability to make different choices, but refused to do so, resulting in increasingly serious criminal conduct and substantial losses to his victims.”
This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Trade Fraud Task Force, which vigorously pursues enforcement actions against parties who seek to evade or otherwise undermine federal customs laws. The Department of Justice recently selected the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office to be a lead prosecutorial partner on the Trade Fraud Task Force. In addition, on April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
