Protecting Your Freight from Double Brokering: Lessons from the Santo Tequila Heist

Double brokering has become one of the most pressing concerns in freight transportation. Even celebrities aren’t safe — as Food Network star Guy Fieri and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar recently found out when more than a million dollars’ worth of their Santo Tequila vanished mid-transport.

While technology has made it easier to connect loads with capacity, it has also opened the door to unethical practices. At its core, double brokering occurs when a broker accepts a load from a shipper and then, instead of assigning it to a vetted carrier, re-brokers it to another broker or carrier without the shipper’s knowledge or consent. This creates risk for all parties — from financial loss to service failures and even cargo theft.

How to Protect Against Double Brokering

The key is vigilance and a consistent verification process. Below are best practices to help identify when a load may be double brokered:

Verify the Carrier’s Authority

• Use FMCSA’s SAFER system or other compliance platforms to confirm active operating authority and insurance coverage.
  • Look out for mismatched details — for example, the carrier’s DOT number may not align with the company name or contact information provided.

Check the Paper Trail

• Review rate confirmations carefully. If the broker’s name is missing or replaced with another company, it’s a red flag.
  • Ensure the bill of lading (BOL) lists the original broker and carrier correctly. If drivers are reluctant to provide clear paperwork, question it.

Validate Contact Information

• Watch for inconsistent communication. Is the carrier using a generic Gmail/Yahoo email instead of a company domain?
  • Are phone numbers local and consistent with the company’s registered headquarters, or do they route elsewhere?

Cross-Check Equipment and Drivers

• Confirm that the driver’s CDL and truck plates match the carrier on file.
  • If a truck shows up with branding from a different company than the one you booked, it may signal double brokering.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

• Load boards and visibility platforms often flag suspicious activity, like a carrier repeatedly posting the same load.
  • Telematics and GPS tracking confirm that the load is moving under the contracted carrier.

Build Relationships with Trusted Partners

• Work with established brokers and asset-based providers that have a reputation for compliance.
  • Long-term partnerships reduce exposure to fraudulent players who prey on spot-market transactions.

Trust Your Instincts

• If something feels “off” — delayed responses, evasive answers, or incomplete documentation — pause before assigning the load.
  • It’s better to delay a shipment slightly than risk losing the freight entirely.

Why It Matters

Double brokering doesn’t just create administrative headaches — it undermines trust across the entire supply chain. Shippers face higher costs and liability risks, carriers lose business opportunities, and brokers see their reputations damaged. By adopting clear verification processes and leveraging technology, logistics professionals can significantly reduce the chances of falling victim to this practice.

“We take double brokering seriously.  While no one is immune from this practice, our process makes it much less likely to happen.  Our customers’ freight is valuable to us no matter what the commodity.  Each new setup is rigorously vetted while our current carrier pool is also re-vetted when placed on a load.  We take pride in our process and feel that any freight placed with Keller will be handled with care.”

– Kathi Diamond, Compliance and On-Boarding Coordinator

How Keller Secure Protects Our Customers

At Keller Logistics Group, we recognize that a strong defense against double brokering and cargo theft starts with building a culture of security. That’s why we created Keller Secure — a comprehensive initiative that embeds security and compliance checks into every stage of our logistics process.

Through Keller Secure, we:

• Rigorously vet every carrier through multi-step verification using FMCSA data, insurance audits, and proprietary screening tools.
• Employ real-time load visibility and geofencing technology to ensure shipments move only under approved carriers.
• Conduct driver ID and equipment verification before every pickup to eliminate impersonation and fraud.
• Maintain 24/7 monitoring and communication protocols to quickly identify anomalies or route deviations.
• Uphold a company-wide ethic of vigilance — where every team member is trained to spot red flags and protect customer freight.

These measures help ensure that incidents like the Santo Tequila theft don’t happen to our customers. With Keller Secure, every shipment benefits from layers of human oversight, data-driven validation, and continuous monitoring — giving shippers peace of mind that their freight is protected from fraud and theft at every step in the process.