An Illinois truck driver has been indicted in Ohio on grand theft charges after allegedly failing to pay nearly $22,000 in turnpike tolls. The case also involves the seizure of his Freightliner truck.
Moath Musamih, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, was indicted by a Williams County, Ohio grand jury on April 21.
He faces a charge of grand theft—a fourth-degree felony that applies to theft of services or property valued between $7,000 and $150,000. If convicted, he could receive up to 18 months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and be required to pay restitution to the victim.
The case began on April 1 when an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper reached out to the Williams County Prosecutor’s Office in Byron, Ohio.
According to county Chief Investigator Andrew Skiles, the trooper told prosecutors, “We’ve been watching him for a long time [for unpaid tolls]. What should we do?”
Skiles said Musamih is an owner-operator who reportedly drove the truck, which appears to be registered in his wife’s name.
Authorities electronically tracked the vehicle through an E-ZPass transponder for nearly two years as it traveled long distances across the Ohio Turnpike, frequently exiting at various off-ramps.
On that day, the truck stopped at the Tiffin River Service Plaza near the Michigan state line. The trooper was instructed to approach the driver while prosecutors later determined whether Ohio would pursue a civil action or file criminal charges against the trucker.
Toll evasion is illegal in Ohio. State law bars anyone from intentionally avoiding Ohio Turnpike tolls or defrauding the Turnpike Commission. Violators may receive citations from the commission, face a $100 civil penalty in addition to paying the unpaid tolls, or be charged criminally.
Sgt. Ryan Purpura, a spokesman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said a trooper located Musamih at a turnpike service plaza along eastbound Interstate 80. Authorities filed an incident report for “Theft by Deception,” alleging the suspect had “engaged in theft activity over the course of multiple years while using the victim’s toll road.” The report listed two offenses: one count of theft (beyond express/implied consent) and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Zartman
Williams County Prosecuting Attorney Katherine Zartman chose to pursue criminal charges against Musamih because of the growing total of alleged unpaid tolls ($21,991) and the extended timeframe of the offenses (April 12, 2024, to April 1, 2026), Skiles said.
He added that the Ohio Turnpike had repeatedly sent notices regarding unpaid fees, which Musamih is accused of ignoring.
Authorities said the trucker’s alleged repeated actions influenced the decision to file a fourth-degree felony charge and include a provision in the indictment to seize the 2012 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck, as Musamih is the owner and/or possessor.
The indictment identified the vehicle as contraband or property derived from or used to commit or facilitate the alleged offense, making it subject to forfeiture.
“The offense is contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio,” the indictment stated.
On April 21, a grand jury returned a true bill to move forward with the criminal case after determining that Musamih acted “with purpose” to deprive the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission of $21,991 in tolls.
The commission identified the suspect, Musamih, along with the companies involved using technology launched on April 10, 2024, which captures license plate images through the turnpike’s new open-road tolling system.
“Our goal is to provide the safest and best conditions at the lowest toll rate possible on the Ohio Turnpike,” said commission Executive Director Ferzan Ahmed. “These companies are making it more difficult to do so. They have had every opportunity to pay their tolls but have ignored three mailed invoices and have been sent to collections.”
In a related move, the commission recently released the names of 315 alleged “rogue” trucking companies accused of failing to pay $5.2 million in tolls over the past two years. Some appear to exhibit characteristics of chameleon carriers.
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