Five owner-operators have filed a proposed class action against Sterling Heights, Michigan-based Red Line Logistics Inc. seeking more than $1 million in damages over claims the carrier systematically underreported freight revenue and pocketed the difference.

The complaint, filed Sept. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accuses Red Line and two company officials — Zaim Bajgoric and Anel Penava — of running a multi-year scheme across U.S., Mexican and Canadian lanes in which owner-operators were paid off a smaller load value than the carrier actually received from shippers. The case is captioned Bajgoric et al. v. Red Line Logistics Inc. et al., No. 2:26-cv-13533.

What is the lawsuit alleging?

The named plaintiffs — Adis and Denisa Bajgoric, Sasa Susa d/b/a ASP Logistics, Mensud Topic, Edin Topic and George Ureche — operated under exclusive lease agreements tying their compensation to a percentage of load revenue. One agreement cited in the complaint gave the owner-operator 80% of the load value while Red Line retained 20%.

The plaintiffs claim Red Line booked freight from third-party customers at a higher rate, then passed a lower figure to the driver before calculating the contractual split. The complaint uses a hypothetical in which a $10,000 load is reported to the owner-operator as worth $7,500, letting Red Line retain the $2,500 gap before applying the 80/20 formula.

The proposed class covers approximately 50 or more owner-operators. Red Line holds active interstate motor carrier authority and is listed with 38 power units and 46 drivers in carrier data reviewed by FreightWaves.

How would two TMS platforms fit the scheme?

The complaint offers an unusually granular operational account. Red Line allegedly maintained load information — including actual total values — in a transportation management system called Apex to which drivers had no access. Drivers instead used Sylectus, a separate TMS used to assign loads and track driver-side information.

Plaintiffs allege Red Line entered the true load value in Apex, then instructed a dispatcher to reduce the figure by a set amount before keying it into Sylectus. Drivers accepted jobs believing the Sylectus number represented the load's full value. Red Line followed up with emailed settlement statements purporting to show the third-party payment and the driver's share after expenses.

Those statements sometimes omitted what Red Line actually received, allowing the carrier to keep the difference, the plaintiffs claim. The lawsuit says the electronic records involved could number in the thousands and that load-value information also flowed through email, text and VoIP channels.

Why are RICO claims part of the complaint?

The plaintiffs characterize the conduct as a pattern of racketeering and assert claims under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. They argue the defendants' electronic transmission of false load values, invoices and settlement information constituted multiple acts of wire fraud in furtherance of the scheme.

Under RICO, the plaintiffs are seeking actual damages that could be trebled, along with punitive damages, attorney fees, an accounting of profits and other relief. The complaint also pleads breach-of-contract, contending the defendants disclosed a lower amount than third parties paid and retained the spread.

A pay sheet attached as an exhibit lists four trips totaling $7,000 in trip-related pay before deductions. The exhibits document the parties' contractual and payment relationship but, on their own, do not establish the alleged gap between customer payments and driver-facing values.

What happens next?

The defendants had not filed a response in the publicly accessible docket as of publication. FreightWaves contacted Red Line, Bajgoric and Penava on Sept. 25 and again Oct. 1; none responded. Plaintiffs' counsel Jeff A. DeLaunay of Miller Cohen also did not respond to requests for comment.

The case sits at the pleadings stage, where motions to dismiss and class certification will shape the litigation's path over the coming months.