Thieves Steal Nvidia-Branded Trailers Expecting AI Chips, Find 40,000 Pounds of Sand Instead

Photo via Vecteezy

A group of cargo thieves in California thought they had hit the jackpot when they hauled off two trailers branded with Nvidia logos. Instead of a fortune in AI chips, they ended up with 40,000 pounds of sand — and abandoned the whole score.

How the Heist Went Down

Late on Wednesday, September 23, the thieves broke the hand locks on two trailers parked outside the Fremont, California warehouse of PlusAI, an autonomous trucking startup that partners with Nvidia on self-driving technology. That partnership is why the trailers carried both companies' logos. The criminals hitched the trailers to their own semi cabs and drove off. Workers discovered the theft Thursday morning and reported the missing trailers to police around 9:30 a.m. on September 24.

40,000 Pounds of Sand

Each trailer was loaded with 20,000 pounds of ballast sand — 40,000 pounds combined. PlusAI packs its trailers with sand to simulate the weight of real freight during self-driving test runs. The genuinely valuable part of the operation — the autonomous truck cabs loaded with the actual self-driving tech — was parked safely inside the warehouse and never touched.

How the Trailers Were Found

The caper unraveled in almost comical fashion. A friend of a PlusAI executive spotted the two trailers parked near another company's office in nearby Newark — about half a mile from where they had been docked — and texted the executive to congratulate him on the company's success. That message set off alarm bells, since the trailers were not supposed to be there. Police helped recover both trailers, and PlusAI got all 40,000 pounds of sand back. The thieves had apparently cracked the trailers open, found nothing but sand, and walked away.

No Arrests Yet — and a Bigger Trend

Fremont police are investigating, and no arrests have been made. Nvidia has not commented on the theft. But the failed heist fits a real pattern: criminals are increasingly targeting high-value computer hardware as demand for AI explodes. Cargo thieves stole an estimated $304.6 million in goods in the second quarter of 2026 — more than double the same period last year, according to CargoNet — with enterprise computers, networking gear, and crypto mining hardware among the top targets. This time, the logo was the only valuable thing on the truck. It is a reminder that criminals follow the money, and right now the money is in AI hardware — companies shipping high-value tech should know their branding alone can make them a target.

California Food Truck Scammer Arrested After Scamming 28 People out of Almost $1 Million USD

28-year-old Fernando Ochoa scammed over two dozen people after taking money from his victims and not providing any food trucks in return. Authorities investigated this case in Stanislaus County, California.

Fernando Ochoa; credit: CBS 13 News

CBS 13 News reported that 28-year-old Fernando Ochoa scammed over two dozen people after taking money from his victims and not providing any food trucks in return.

The scammer took money from several victims that thought they were buying food trucks from him. 

Authorities have totaled over $992,000 in money stolen, and it could go over a million after the investigation is over.

One couple, Adriana and Nika Nicaron gave Ochoa $20,000 in cash, and he never delivered anything to them. They own Kaji Teppenyaki, a food business and found 8A Food Trucks online, which was how the met Fernando Ochoa.

According to CBS 13 News, they paid him the 20,000 and he promised to have their food truck in two months, but it never came.

The theft of their money "almost destroyed their business."

On Thursday, April 18, Ochoa pled not guilty to 28 counts of fraud against him, with a bail increased to $500,000.

Three Men Steal More Than $38K in Apple Products from a Chesapeake Walmart & Get Away in a Dark Pickup Truck

Three men steal more than $38K of Apple products from Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia on January 4, 2024 around 10:40 p.m. One of the men distracts a Walmart sales associate while two other men pry open caged lockers containing "a large amount of Apple products." They fled through the employee break room and drove away in a dark pickup truck.

Apple products (stock photo) by Julian O'havon on Unsplash

Three Men Steal More than $38K of Apple Products from Virginia Walmart

WAVY 10 News reported that three men stole over $38K worth of Apple products on January 4, 2024, around 10:40 p.m. One of the men distracts a Walmart sales associate while two other men pry open caged lockers containing "a large amount of Apple products." They fled through the employee break room and drove away in a dark pickup truck.

This theft took place at the Walmart located at 632 Grassfield Parkway in Chesapeake, Virginia, and was captured on their surveillance camera. This is a busy road in Chesapeake.

A Chesapeake deputy working part-time witnessed the three men get into a dark pickup and speed off.

Stealing more than $1,000 of goods in the state of Virginia is a felony, which is punishable by up to 20 years in state prison, and because they used a tool, this is also considered a felony, which could add an additional 5 years of prison time to their sentence.

WAVY 10 News reported that local residents were shocked, as they "have never seen anything like this happen at that Walmart before."

 

Chesapeake resident Tim Pickett said:

“The people that walked in and stole this amount of money out of Apple products, I don’t understand how that was — people watching them do that and how that was allowed,” Pickett said. “And then watching the segment on WAVY 10 last night, I saw they went out the employees’ entrance. So I was stunned for, like, how that happens in our neighborhood.”

Man and Pitbull Steal Garbage Truck in Boulder, CO

Stolen Western Disposal Garbage truck (Boulder, CO)

A man in Boulder, CO stole a garbage truck and thought he would get away with it. But not before politely asking a police officer if he could borrow his car.

26 year-old Daniel Morkert, became nervous on Wednesday, August 30, 2014, when police were performing an investigation in his neighborhood in Boulder, CO. Daniel came outside of his apartment building with his pitbull and thanked the officer for his service. Daniel Morkert then asked the officer if he could borrow his police car.

Daniel Morkert Steals Garbage Truck

The police officer said no, so Daniel opted for something bigger -- a garbage truck. The garbage truck driver got out of the vehicle to move a dumpster, and that's when Daniel Morkert hopped in the driver's seat and drove off. Daniel Morkert then said, "I'm taking your truck!" The truck driver pleaded for Morkert to not take the truck, but it was too late. Not to mention that Morkert also had his pitbull in the garbage truck with him.

Boulder police then followed Daniel Morkert in a low speed chase down U.S. 36. Police put down spikes on the road near McCaslin Blvd. to flatten the tires. One tire blew on the spikes, but Daniel Morkert continued to drive eastbound on U.S. 36. After the tire blew, the police cars chased the garbage truck at 30 m.p.h.

The stolen garbage truck finally exited U.S. 36 at Wadsworth Blvd heading north. Shortly after, Daniel Morkert crashed the garbage truck into a median, south of Midway Blvd., in Broomfield. Morkert was apprehended by Broomfield police, then given over to Boulder CO police.

A neighbor of Daniel Morkert told police that she believes he is schizophrenic, and was initially freaked out by police in their neighborhood.

Daniel Morkert has been charged with reckless driving, auto theft, and eluding a police officer.