‘It was just a bad feeling': Movers packed their belongings. Then, the truck went missing

Graduation is supposed to be a joyous time, but Taylor McKenzie says a turbulent moving experience left her looking for answers. 

Taylor and her mom Suni Moore hired a moving broker who arranged her move in June with a company named Cross Country Movers. The company has an address in Hallandale Beach, Florida. 

Suni says two movers showed up on the day of the move, and so did the red flags. 

First, she says the movers asked her to pay hundreds of dollars more than the original estimated price. 

Next, she says one of the movers told her quite the story about himself. 

“He said, well, when I got out of prison, I took the bus and I’m thinking, ‘Okay, you just got out of prison,’” Suni recalled. 

After the truck was loaded, she says they never saw their items again. 

“And I knew something was going to happen. It just was a bad feeling,” Suni said. 

She says days after the move, they got a phone call from a company representative. 

“And she said, ‘Okay, well, the truck was missing on Monday and was found today on Wednesday and all of Taylor’s stuff is gone,’” Suni said. 

‘THE TRUCK WAS MISSING‘

According to a police report filed by the owner of Cross County Movers, he told police the movers never returned his truck and stopped returning his phone calls. 

When NBC6 Responds reached out to Cross Country Movers, a representative told us in a statement they did try to resolve the claim with the customers and issued a refund of the initial deposit. 

They also made an offer of $1,940 to resolve the issue under their standard liability insurance. A policy offered to customers under federal law.

The representative told us, “Customers do have the option of purchasing additional insurance,” something Taylor and her mom did not do. 

When we asked the company about their employee vetting process, we were told one of the movers was a company foreman who previously worked for the company and had a background check performed along with a review of his driver’s license prior to the move. But the other mover at Taylor’s apartment was a “friend” of the foreman who was called last minute when another worker was not available, and a background check was not done. 

“They don’t know who is in my house. Cross Country Movers does not vet their employees. They have no idea who is in our house, who is doing this work,” Suni said. 

As for the lost items, they still haven’t been found. Pembroke Park Police told us this is still an open investigation, and they still have not developed many leads in the case.

Suni told us they turned down the initial offer from the company because it was just a fraction of the total cost it would cost them to replace the items. 

She says, at this point, she has plans on taking the issue to court. 

HISTORY OF COMPLAINTS

Taylor and Suni aren’t the only customers who have complained about their moving experience with Cross Country Movers. 

A quick Google search of the company and its owner, Yehoshua Vaknin, shows a history of complaints.

Previous news investigations detailed complaints from other customers who ran into issues with the company or Vaknin. 

We found customers filed 16 complaints in 2024 with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration against the company. In 2023, the FMCSA reported 12 complaints. 

The complaints were for things like deceptive business practices, loss and damages, and pickup or delivery issues. The agency has not taken action on these specific complaints so far. 

We also found out this isn’t the first moving company Yehoshua Vaknin has operated. In fact, in 2020 the Florida Attorney General’s Office took action with a final judgment against US Moving Services and other related companies operated by Vaknin. The judgment ordered Vaknin and his companies to pay over $1 million in restitution for what the AG’s office called “deceptive moving practices.”

Years later, Vaknin is still operating a moving company and racking up new complaints. 

The AG’s office told NBC6 Responds they have received 21 complaints related to Cross County Movers or Vaknin since 2020.

We spoke with Vaknin over the phone. He told us he has resolved all his previous issues and has paid back what was required to the state. He also told us he is only operating Cross Country Movers and has nothing to hide. 

As for the current complaints, a company representative denied any deceptive practices and told us in part, “We as a company do our very best to operate as professionally possible, always attempting to offer a core of excellent services” They went on to say, “There are times we are faced with challenges.” They also pointed to the company’s A- rating with the Better Business Bureau in Florida saying in part they “make every effort to resolve any issue or concern.”

‘REINCARNATION‘

Moving companies often shut down and reopen under a new name. It is something FMCSA Division Enforcement Chief Monique Riddick calls “reincarnation.”

She says it’s an issue the FMCSA is working to fix with a new registration system with stronger checks and balances during the company’s registration process. 

“I’m not going to say completely eliminate but it’s really going to reduce the reincarnation ability that is more easily done at this time with our registration system,” Riddick said. 

The FMCSA can fine moving companies, but they can’t pursue criminal charges. They investigate complaints and can refer cases to the U.S. Office of Inspector General or the U.S. Department of Justice. 

But this can be a lengthy process and does not always yield results. 

She says consumers should take extra steps when hiring a moving company by checking the FMCSA website where you can find out if a company is registered with the Federal Government and see three years’ worth of complaints. You can also find out who the registered owner of a company is by searching the name of the company on the Florida’s Sunbiz website.

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