![]() When we called the phone number sending texts to job seekers, a man told Davis he had job openings at Coca Cola, but she needed to go to Southwest Forklift as soon as possible to get her forklift certification. In the same post, he wrote “Hiring now for amazon warehouse shipping and receiving 3 shifts open and ready to fill with right candidates.” He posted forkift training and certification at 16613 West Hardy. On LinkedIn, his account shows he is the owner of a company called Forkift Solutions. In recent months, a man by the name of Anthony Ortega has claimed to be the owner. That is the same name of the man who originally leased the property at 16613 West Hardy in Houston. In 2014, a man by the name of Segio Hernandez, claiming to be the owner of Southwest Forklift, sued his landlord in Dallas for locking him out of the commercial property he was leasing for the business. ![]() Based on public records, we were able to get some information about who owns the company. The receptionist shut the door on us instead of answering our questions. “Are there forklifts in here at all? Could you show us the forklifts?” Amy said. “People say that you guys are luring them here with the promise of a job and then they never get a job,” Davis said to the receptionist who goes by the name Roz. When no one from the business would return our calls, we dropped by Southwest Forklift. “They’re fishing people in to take their money,” said Grace.Īccording to complaints online and to Houston Better Business Bureau, others say Southwest Forklift has made this job promise for years. The only thing missing is actual forklifts. On-site there are OSHA logos, training videos, and even reserved parking spaces for forklifts. “I was like, ‘Am I supposed to do the driving side of it?’ They said, ‘Oh, no. First, Selman watched a video and answered a 27 multiple-choice question quiz. “I did see a big sign with OSHA, so I was just thinking it was legit,” he explains.īut what happened next raised one red flag after another. Inside, he saw a very official-looking OSHA logo behind the receptionist where he paid his $80. He followed the instructions and drove to Southwest Forklift in the 16000 block of West Hardy in the Greenspoint area. “They described it as ‘We need you to pretty much hurry up, get to the place and get certified and send me your credentials,’” Selman told investigator Amy Davis. ![]() “The main reason why I kept the company going this long was because it provided jobs for a lot of people,” Magarin said.The certification training would cost $80, but the message assured him he would be reimbursed immediately at his job orientation the same day. Interest rates are going up, the price of parts has tripled and the cost of new equipment is outrageous.”Īccording to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER data, Lone Star Dedicated has 102 power units and 86 drivers. The company is still profitable but the margins are getting thinner and thinner. ![]() “I don’t like what’s coming down the pike. “At this point, I am just getting rid of a headache,” Magarin told FreightWaves. Lone Star Dedicated once had more than 150 drivers and hauled oil field equipment, but Magarin said he was forced to downsize and pivot to pulling reefers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ![]() The company’s nearly 90 drivers were notified Friday that the carrier would be closing its doors after 12 years in business. David Magarin, president and owner of Lone Star Dedicated, confirmed Monday that he’s shutting down the trucking company, which hauls refrigerated food nationwide, this month. ![]()
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