Edge Logistics has sued rival freight broker Freight Tec Management Group and four former employees, alleging they diverted customers through a scheme involving confidential information and kickbacks funded by inflated freight charges.
The 51-page federal complaint, filed Sept. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that the employees secretly established competing businesses while still working for Edge Logistics and arranged to transfer customer accounts to Utah-based Freight Tec before resigning.
Edge alleges its expedited-freight division declined 66.4% within weeks of the employees’ departures in May 2026, while the rest of its business grew 8.5%. The lawsuit does not specify whether those figures measure revenue, shipment volume or another metric, nor does it identify the precise comparison period.
The lawsuit names Freight Tec Management Group Inc., former Edge employees Nicholas Daglas, John Harlan, Andre Apiquian and Alexis Hersh, and three companies allegedly established to operate as Freight Tec brokerage agents: Parlay Expedited LLC, Thorndale Logistics LLC and Freight Redefined LLC.
Todd Rowden, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP representing the four former employees and three related LLCs, disputed the allegations.
“My clients dispute plaintiff’s allegations, and the legal sufficiency of its claims, and have no further comment regarding the complaint,” Rowden said in an emailed statement to FreightWaves.
Freight Tec did not provide a substantive response to FreightWaves’ requests for comment before publication.
Lawsuit alleges employees planned departures while still on payroll
According to the complaint, the four employees worked in Edge’s expedited-freight division, arranging urgent and time-sensitive shipments using straight trucks, box trucks, cargo vans and other equipment.
Edge Logistics, headquartered in Chicago, was founded in 2014. The logistics provider has around 120 employees, according to Built In Chicago.
Bountiful, Utah-based Freight Tec Management Group is a privately held freight brokerage founded in 1997. The company provides truckload, less-than-truckload and expedited freight services through a network of independent freight agents. Freight Tec has between 51 and 200 employees, according to LinkedIn.
Edge alleges the employees had access to confidential customer information, including shipping rates, pricing strategies, freight lanes, customer preferences and business relationships.
Rather than leave Edge and independently establish competing businesses, the employees allegedly worked with Freight Tec to develop a plan to transfer existing Edge accounts to the rival brokerage.
The lawsuit alleges that Freight Tec’s leadership knew the employees were subject to restrictive employment agreements and reviewed those agreements before engaging them.
Edge claims in court filings that Freight Tec’s CEO met with Daglas approximately three to five times before the employees departed to discuss their agreements, paperwork and the legality of their planned business arrangements.
The employees allegedly agreed to operate through independent agency businesses under Freight Tec’s brokerage authority, receiving a share of gross profits generated by the customers they brought to the company.
Three of the defendants established limited liability companies in April, according to the complaint:
- Apiquian registered Freight Redefined LLC in Florida on April 20.
- Harlan registered Thorndale Logistics LLC in Illinois on April 22.
- Daglas registered Parlay Expedited LLC in Illinois on April 23.
Edge alleges all three companies were established while their owners were still employed by the brokerage.
The complaint further alleges the employees staggered their resignations to conceal the coordinated nature of their departure.
Daglas submitted his resignation May 8, telling Edge he was stepping away from the freight industry to focus on family, according to the lawsuit.
Harlan allegedly told colleagues he was leaving to work for a friend in Las Vegas, while Apiquian said he wanted a local, office-based position.
Edge claims those explanations concealed plans to continue working in freight brokerage through Freight Tec.
Customer emails allegedly established before departures
Among the lawsuit’s most detailed allegations are descriptions of customer-specific Freight Tec email accounts appearing in Edge shipment communications before the employees left the company.
On May 9, while Daglas and Hersh were still employed by Edge, an email account associated with Freight Tec and dedicated to an Edge customer identified as Customer A appeared in a shipment-related email thread, according to the complaint.
Five days later, on May 14, a second Freight Tec email account dedicated to Customer B appeared in a rate-request thread involving Daglas and Harlan’s Edge email addresses.
Edge contends those communications demonstrate that the defendants were preparing to service existing Edge customers through Freight Tec before their employment ended.
The complaint also describes subsequent transactions allegedly involving the same customers.
On June 28-29, Apiquian allegedly arranged an expedited shipment for Customer B through Freight Tec and Freight Redefined LLC, identifying himself as Freight Tec’s key accounts manager.
Hersh, identified in the complaint as a Freight Tec strategic account manager, allegedly coordinated delivery and confirmed the shipment’s final rate.
On Aug. 18, a representative of Customer A requested a transportation quote from Apiquian at his Freight Tec email address, with an Edge email address also included in the correspondence, according to the lawsuit.
Apiquian allegedly responded with a freight rate.
Edge also claims freight postings appeared on a load board for lanes previously handled by its brokerage, using Freight Tec addresses associated with Daglas and Harlan.
Alleged kickbacks funded by inflated freight rates
The complaint includes a separate allegation that former Edge employees arranged to pay kickbacks to a shipping customer’s decision-maker in exchange for directing freight to Freight Tec.
According to the lawsuit, the arrangement developed around April 2026, when representatives associated with a customer identified only as Customer C visited Chicago.
Edge alleges that the former employees informed an East Coast contact at Customer C about their plans to establish a competing operation through Freight Tec.
The customer contact allegedly agreed to direct shipments to the new operation but demanded kickbacks financed by adding money to freight charges.
The complaint alleges the defendants subsequently handled Customer C freight under that arrangement.
Edge contends the alleged payments gave Freight Tec an improper competitive advantage by influencing the customer’s freight-routing decisions rather than winning business through pricing or service.
The complaint does not identify Customer C, specify the amount of any alleged payments or include underlying invoices or payment records establishing the alleged kickbacks.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Edge seeks injunction, damages and return of confidential information
Edge’s lawsuit contains 11 counts, including breach of contract, breach of duty of loyalty, tortious interference with contractual and prospective business relationships, aiding and abetting, civil conspiracy and unfair competition.
The company alleges the employees violated employment agreements containing confidentiality, noncompetition and nonsolicitation provisions.
Edge is asking the court to prohibit the defendants from using or disclosing its confidential business information and to restrict certain competitive activities and customer solicitation.
The company also seeks the return of confidential documents and electronic information, preservation and forensic imaging of electronic devices and accounts, monetary damages, disgorgement of allegedly improper profits and attorneys’ fees.
The complaint does not specify a dollar amount in damages.
Court documents indicate that attorneys for Daglas and Harlan previously challenged the enforceability of certain employment agreements, arguing that the agreements lacked sufficient consideration.
The complaint also acknowledges that Daglas’ employment agreement contains an arbitration provision. Edge says it is seeking injunctive relief against him in federal court at this stage and intends to pursue monetary claims through arbitration, subject to circumstances described in the complaint.
No court has ruled on the merits of Edge’s allegations or determined whether the disputed employment restrictions are enforceable.
Former employees have until Dec. 1 to respond
The four former employees and three related LLCs waived formal service of the complaint, according to court records filed Oct. 6.
Their responses to the lawsuit are due Dec. 1.
An initial status hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2 in Chicago.
As of the latest docket reviewed by FreightWaves, no defendant had filed a substantive response to the complaint, and the court had not issued a ruling on Edge’s allegations.
Why it matters: The Edge Logistics LLC v. Freight Tec Management Group Inc. case highlights the legal and financial risks freight brokers face when employees leave with valuable customer relationships and establish competing operations.
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