Florida Attorney General Files Suit Against Ryder Moving and Storage

Customers say Ryder Moving and Storage damaged their belongings and in many cases took their items.

Florida’s Attorney General announced Tuesday it has filed suit against a Pompano Beach moving company spotlighted by the Team 6 Investigators.

Customers across the country say Ryder Moving and Storage damaged their belongings and in many cases took their items but never returned them.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is asking a judge to prevent the owners of Ryder Moving and Storage from ever being allowed to engage in the moving business in Florida again.

The complaint says Josh Socher, his wife Jodi Socher, business partner Jose Pino and Socher's company used unfair and deceptive business practices to cheat 105 customers out of more than $115,000.

One family in Washington state is glad to hear the news.

Terri and Terrance Thomas paid Ryder Moving and Storage more than $4,500 to move their items from Zephyrhills, Fla. to Everett, Wash. last year, but they say their items never arrived.

"He just stole my money, my merchandise, my faith, my trust and he doesn't care," Terri Thomas said back in January. "And that's what kills me. He doesn't care."

The state claims Ryder Moving and Storage “picked up customers’ belongings but never delivered them, collected money for services never provided and refused to pay for damage to customers’ property.”

The state also alleges the company misrepresented itself to customers like the Thomases by leading them to believe they were affiliated with the nationally-known vehicle rental company Ryder System, which they are not.

Prosecutors are asking for a permanent injunction against Josh Socher, Jodi Socher and Pino, which would bar them from the moving business in Florida.

Pino told Team 6 he had no comment and was unaware of the complaint.

Team 6 investigators also went to the Sochers' Cooper City home Tuesday afternoon for comment, but no one answered the door.

But during a previous interview, Josh Socher blamed Pino for the company’s problems.

“I’m a victim based on my [chief operating officer]," he said. "What he did to me. He split and ran and left everything in my lap when it wasn’t even my department."

Not all customers were left without their property or compensation for their loss. A Broward Sheriff’s detective helped the Thomases track their things to Ryder’s abandoned warehouse. After Team 6's investigation aired, another moving company came forward and took the items that the family once thought were gone forever to the Thomas’ home for free. Their belongings arrived last weekend.

The development brought Terri Thomas to tears as she looked through her dad’s obituary and other personal mementos.

“I can’t believe I got my stuff back,” Thomas said.

The Attorney General’s complaint against the company and its associates seeks an injunction effectively shutting Ryder out of the moving business, but also asks for fines of up to $15,000 for each violation of the statutes. That’s in addition to the $115,000 it seeks in restitution to the customers.

This is a civil complaint, not a criminal charge. Ryder's operators are not being accused of any crimes.

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