KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A California trucker working for a Kansas freight brokerage was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison for stealing a load of meat valued at more than $160,000, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Gegham Avetisyan, 37, Valley Village, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Avetisyan contracted with a trucking freight brokerage business in Olathe to deliver a load of meat to three locations in California. He faxed documents to the company in which he used the name Robert Ivanov. He picked up the meat at a packing plant in Omaha, but never delivered it.

McAllister commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.