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Armenia is a landlocked country that shares borders with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, & Iran. Image Source: Britannica.
Armenia, a landlocked country in the Caucasus, wasn’t exactly on my bucket list.
One of my best friends in high school, Kevork, was Armenian and he often told me I needed to visit.
Aside from that, I remember my boss warning me of using Californian Armenian trucking companies back in 2017.
If their last name on Carrier411 ended in -YAN (a common ending for Armenian last names), I needed to be cautious, he told me.
"Make sure they have truck inspections in the states they’ll be hauling, no freight guards for double brokering, etc."
Keep in mind, this was 2017 - before all the scamming and fraud.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Armenian diaspora in the U.S., and a large majority of them live in Glendale.
From 2017 to 2020, the double brokering problem grew—with a large majority of them being Armenians.
Then, when I started FreightCaviar in October 2020, I noticed that after the United States, the second-largest number of followers I had were based in Armenia.
A look at FreightCaviar demographics on Instagram: Armenia is right behind the United States in terms of total followers, making up 3.9% of our 39,000 followers.
After seeing this in October 2021, I knew I had to catch a plane to Yerevan and see what was going on.
So I bought my tickets and brought along my good friend Tom Stawinski (youngest intern at Coyote at 17, and owner of a trucking company at 20) and our videographer, Darek.
Tom’s and my conversation ahead of our flight to Yerevan.
FreightWaves Three-Part Series
Before I dive into our trip to Armenia and what we experienced, I recommend checking out FreightWaves' 2021 three-part series on the Southern California double brokering ring. It’s a must-read for understanding the bigger picture.
A lot of people tend to associate double brokers and scammers as being the same - in my opinion they are drastically different.
A double broker ensures the load gets delivered by the end carrier and that the carrier gets paid. They sell the load for less than they received it from the broker and keep the difference.
While it's not ethical, it's different from a scammer, who might steal the load or keep the full payment without paying the carrier.
However, with the freight market downturn since 2022, many former double brokers have now turned to scamming.
Meeting Armenia’s Double Brokers
We landed in Yerevan at 3 a.m. local time and were picked up by two young double brokers, Stefan and Artur, who had just finished their shift.
At only 20 years old, they had both served in the 2020 war against Azerbaijan.
After the war, they turned to double brokering, one of the few ways to make a decent living, earning around $4,000 a month—significantly more than the average salary of $400-$700 in Armenia.
The following day, we met more double brokers who told us how they capitalize on inefficiencies in the U.S. logistics market.
Their methods were simple: find lightweight loads posted as truckloads on DAT, then sell them as partials to box trucks for cheaper.
Many double brokers we spoke to had relationships with large U.S. 3PLs, who often turned a blind eye, as long as the load was delivered.
While this strategy worked when the freight market was tight, much has changed since, and I’ve heard many double brokering offices have now closed.
A Visit to the Office
We were later invited to another double brokering office by a separate group of brokers who followed us on Instagram.
Their office, a rented room inside a university, had around six young brokers, all in their early to mid-twenties.
They openly shared how they avoid freight guards, maintain relationships with U.S. companies, and keep their operations running smoothly.
However, things took a sudden turn when I made the mistake of doing an Instagram live to show freight brokers in the States what a double broker office looks like.
Within minutes, six men stormed the office (they looked like mafia), furious that we were there. They demanded we delete all the footage (we had interviews with the double brokers) and my memes making fun of Armenian double brokers.
Unfortunately, the footage they deleted was never recovered. You can watch the full version of what survived here.
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Reflections on Armenia’s Double Brokering Scene
It’s been three years since my visit, and a lot has changed.
The pandemic-driven freight boom has ended, fraud prevention tech like Highway has emerged, and scams have increased significantly.
A few key takeaways from my trip:
Organized crime is involved. The incident where six men stormed the office was frightening. They’ll always find ways to profit, no matter the market conditions.
The double brokers were just people trying to make a living. Many had dreams and aspirations, and double brokering was one of the few ways to earn a decent income for their families. While I don’t agree with their methods, I empathized with their situation.
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Clarissa Hawes
