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Movers operating illegally, state agency says

Patrick Fuller was excited to be with his new fiancée in Scotland after moving there from Seattle in late September.
 
But what he didn't know was that the person hired to move his belongings was operating illegally in Washington for more than a year, according to a state agency.
 
That man, Jeffrey Johnson, was believed to be the last person seen with Fuller's belongings, worth more than $15,000.
 
KIRO 7 tracked down some of the belongings and confirmed some of the items were sold to a Kirkland comic book store for $75.
 
"He's taken my whole life from me," Fuller said in a Skype interview. "All my mementos, all my memories, all my expensive electronics."
 
Fuller had hired an international moving company, which in turn hired a shipping company, which contracted Jeffrey Johnson to bring his stuff to the shipper.
 
The shipper told KIRO 7 the shipment never made it to the company. Fuller told KIRO 7 Johnson seemed like a responsible person.
 
"He seemed really nice," Fuller said about his move day. "I helped him with my boxes out to his van."
 
That was the last day he saw his belongings.
 
Johnson has operated his moving company under several names, including "Jeff's Express Movers," "Moving Labor Express" and "Express Movers."
 
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, the agency in charge of movers, told KIRO 7 Johnson's business is illegal because he advertised his moving business without the proper state permits.
 
"He's never had a brick-and-mortar office, and a lot of these illegal companies don't actually have offices, and that's a real red flag for a consumer," said WUTC spokesperson Amanda Maxwell.
 
The regulating agency tried to bring Johnson to court last year, and he never showed up.
 
When he didn't show up, the judge fined him $5,000, and even then, there isn't record of Johnson paying. Since then, Fuller, the WUTC and the shipping companies said they couldn't locate Johnson.
 
And yet, Johnson still advertised as a moving business.

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