26 January 2017

State Files Suit Accusing LME/FLE of Fraud

Lakeville

Full Text of the Legal Filing

St. Paul, MN- On January 19, 2017, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry filed suit accusing trucking firms LME INC, Finish Line Express, and Lakeville Motor Express of fraud and wage theft. This comes just over two months after Lakeville Motor Express closed, laying off 95 workers with no notice three days before Thanksgiving.

Tom Erickson, President of Teamsters Local 120 which represents the 95 laid off employees, sees this as an important first step: “We appreciate the hard work of the Department in investigating this case. Our members were literally left out in the cold.”

The suit alleges that Kevin Deming, Roger Wilsey, Shari Taylor Wilsey, Michael and Nancy Sanford, Travis and Jennifer Hoeschen, owners and executives of Lakeville and sister companies FLE/LME, fraudulently transferred Lakeville assets to LME/FLE, and demands that over $300,000 in stolen wages and penalties be paid.

“These executives robbed 95 hard working, middle class families of wages they had earned. We are pleased to see that the State has taken the next step towards holding these companies accountable,” said Teamsters Local 120 Secretary Treasurer Bill Wedebrand.