Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said investigators were “gathering evidence at each company right now” and suggested the network of businesses showed signs consistent with chameleon carrier behavior. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press)
February 19, 2026 3:30 PM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a federal investigation into AJ Partners and related carriers and a CDL school after a fatal Indiana crash involving driver Bekzhan Beishekeev.
- Duffy said the companies and an affiliated CDL school showed possible chameleon carrier behavior that could enable evasion of safety oversight.
- FMCSA has placed multiple carriers out of service and is gathering evidence as lawmakers push new reporting tools and stricter enforcement.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced an investigation into alleged so-called chameleon carriers connected to a fatal truck-van collision in Indiana, widening scrutiny across several trucking companies and a CDL training school as federal officials probe whether entities linked to the driver attempted to evade oversight.
The truck driver involved in the crash was identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Bekzhan Beishekeev, a 30-year-old from Kyrgyzstan, who came to the U.S. illegally and held a commercial driver license from Pennsylvania. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he was arrested Feb. 3 after allegedly swerving into oncoming traffic on Indiana state Route 67. The crash occurred around 4 p.m., when Beishekeev reportedly failed to brake for a slowing tractor-trailer ahead of him, then crossed into the westbound lane and collided head‑on with a van. Four people were killed.
RELATED: House Bill Seeks Crackdown on ‘Chameleon Carriers’
Duffy, who began publicly addressing the case within days of the crash, said on X that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had expanded its inquiry to examine carriers tied to AJ Partners, including Sam Express and Tutash Express. The agency also is evaluating the CDL training school linked to AJ Partners, Aydana Inc., along with a related operation known as U.S. CDL.
🚨UPDATE : deadly crash in Indiana that killed four Amish men involving an ILLEGAL TRUCKER🚨
*The name of the carrier that employed the illegal is AJ Partners
*@FMCSA is expanding the scope of the investigation to include a number of other companies – including Sam Express Inc.…
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 7, 2026
Duffy said investigators were “gathering evidence at each company right now” and suggested the network of businesses showed signs consistent with chameleon carrier behavior — companies shutting down on paper and reopening under new names or DOT numbers to avoid enforcement, insurance costs or compliance scrutiny.
Multicompany Crackdown
AJ Partners, based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., was placed out of service on Feb. 11. According to FMCSA records, the interstate freight carrier had 111 drivers and 111 power units.
Its registered address per records on real estate website Zillow was a two‑bedroom townhouse, though the company maintains an active status in the Illinois secretary of state records under its registered agent, Isabek Arystankulov.
The two other Illinois companies — Tutash Express and Sam Express — were placed out of service Feb. 13.
Tutash Express, operating out of South Holland, reported 159 drivers and 156 power units and was incorporated in 2017 under Syrazhidin Zhaladin Uulu, state records show.
Sam Express, based in Palatine, listed one driver and one power unit. Its registered address, also a residence according to public real estate listings, is tied to corporate records for owner Saipidin Tutashov.
Duffy said federal approval had also been revoked for Aydana, the CDL training business that reportedly provided entry‑level training to Beishekeev. State filings show Aydana Inc. registered in 2022 in Pennsylvania, with Aleksandr Piurveev listed as president.
The company’s Hatboro address aligns with a three‑bedroom home built in the 1950s, according to Zillow.
Aydana also is connected to an entity called U.S. CDL, registered in 2023 with a Philadelphia address at a duplex condo unit.
Duffy suggested federal investigators are reviewing whether the school improperly facilitated licenses for unqualified applicants, saying any other licenses its training supported “will be called into question.”
Political Pressure Builds
The Indiana crash prompted U.S. Sen. Jim Banks (R‑Ind.) to launch an online “TruckSafe Tipline” on Feb. 10. Banks said the tool will allow truckers and industry stakeholders to report concerns about motor carriers, particularly those suspected of hiring undocumented drivers, employing drivers unable to meet federal English‑language proficiency rules or putting behind the wheel individuals lacking legal authorization to drive a commercial vehicle in the U.S.
🚨 I’ve launched the TRUCKSAFE TIPLINE.
If you’re a trucker or work in the industry and see something unsafe or know of shady carriers hiring illegals, I want to hear from you.
Go to https://t.co/eBw2RWXTP2 to help keep our roads safe: pic.twitter.com/QIAfnHOrDJ
— Senator Jim Banks (@SenatorBanks) February 10, 2026
“Indiana is the Crossroads of America, and Hoosiers are getting killed because drivers who shouldn’t be here in the first place are behind the wheel,” Banks said. “If you’re driving a truck on our roads, you need to be legal, you need to be able to read traffic signs, and you need to follow the law.”
Banks’ office cited both the recent crash and two earlier fatal Indiana incidents involving alleged undocumented foreign drivers. In one November crash, Indiana National Guardsman Terry Frye was killed and three others injured in a collision with a Georgian national who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and obtained a New York CDL. Deputies at the scene required a translator because the driver could not speak English, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
Another case, in October, involved a driver from Serbia and Montenegro who had been in the U.S. illegally since 2011 and owned two trucking companies that collectively received more than $36,000 in COVID‑19 relief funding. Banks said the driver allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 20 in Portage that killed a 54‑year‑old motorist.
Reports submitted through the TruckSafe Tipline will be shared with the Department of Transportation and the DOT Office of Inspector General to help identify carriers cutting corners or attempting to bypass safety regulations.
“American truck drivers are patriots and vital to our country,” Banks said. “Shady trucking companies that hire illegals, put lives at risk and undercut American drivers’ wages are the problem. We must hold them accountable.”
Industry Response
American Trucking Associations has publicly supported stronger federal scrutiny of chameleon carriers. ATA Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Alex Rosen said companies that appear and reappear under new identities weaken the integrity of the trucking industry by avoiding enforcement actions, skirting insurance consequences and limiting public visibility into their safety performance.
“Chameleon carriers are a plague on our nation’s highways, putting all motorists at risk and undercutting the vast majority of trucking companies that are responsible and follow the rules,” Rosen said.
Duffy applauded the tipline and echoed the call for tougher oversight. “Too many lives have been lost and this must stop,” he said.
