With Cents Per Mile, truck drivers work hard for their pay. Imagine driving a 50-hour week, but when it’s time for your paycheck, the trucking company doesn’t respond.

The problem of a disappearing trucking company happened to a pair of Illinois truck drivers who were left stranded more than 1,000 from their homes with no pay.

Cromex, Inc.

The team drivers, a father and a son, returned one truck and were waiting on a second truck to make another delivery. But the second truck never arrived.

After attempting to contact their company Cromex, Inc., they received a simple text message:

“Company is bankrupt and closed, bro. Trucks went back to [the] bank.”

The drivers were owed $3,000 for their first freight delivery as well as reimbursement for the hotel they were staying at while waiting for the second truck.

When the drivers asked when they would be paid, the company owner, Daniel Krizanac, replied with another text:

“You won’t get shit now and find a new job.”

Eventually the drivers found a ride back. Although they were treated as company drivers, they were employed as 1099 contractors, so it appears they have no legal recourse.

And the negligent, disrespectful Krizanac started another trucking company called Boscro Cargo in Evanston, Illinois.

Flagship Transport

This story follows another vanishing trucking company from Florida called Flagship Transport.

In the case of Flagship, a total of 455 drivers for the fleet were not given their paychecks. The company went unresponsive. No word from dispatchers or company drivers.

Some drivers were still hauling loads when communication ceased. The company’s financial health had been in question, but there is no excuse for ignoring communication from hundreds of employed drivers.

Some drivers, who were owed total payments ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, did receive checks. The checks bounced.

While the two scenarios above are different, they both leave drivers abandoned with little help. Drivers need additional tools to deal with unscrupulous employers, and it’s time for Congress and law enforcement to step in.