These Career thieves will steal your property
If you're considering hiring Barahona's Professional Moving & Storage (San Jose/Sun Valley, CA) or Frontline Moving & Storage (Northridge, CA), STOP. Close their website. Hang up the phone. Run.
These are not moving companies. They are sophisticated theft operations run by Adolfo Barahona and his associates who will steal everything you own while demanding cash payments for "verification" they'll never provide. They operate multiple fake company names to hide from their victims' reviews and continue their criminal enterprise.
They stole $250,000 worth of my possessions. Don't let them steal yours.
The Perfect Mark: How Moving Makes You Vulnerable
February 2024. I was moving from Mountain View, California to Newark, New Jersey for work. Like millions of Americans who relocate each year, I was stressed, overwhelmed, and needed professional help. I needed someone I could trust with literally everything I owned.
I thought I was hiring professionals. The website looked legitimate. They had DOT numbers. They sent official-looking paperwork. They showed up with a truck.
What I actually hired were con artists who had perfected a system for legally stealing from people at their most vulnerable moment - when all their worldly possessions are in someone else's hands.
The Con Begins: The Forged Inventory Trick
When "Emerson" from Barahona's showed up at my apartment on February 24th, he seemed professional enough. He packed boxes, wrote things on a clipboard, and sent me an inventory list.
It showed 8 computers had been loaded onto the truck. I signed it, relieved that my valuable business equipment was documented and protected.
Four days later, my cleaning crew sent me photos that made my blood run cold.
Four supercomputers - the ones I needed to run my artificial intelligence business, worth $225,000 - were sitting in my empty apartment. They never even loaded them on the truck.
But the inventory said they took 8 computers.
That was lie number one.
The Admission That Changed Nothing
When I called them in a panic, something strange happened. They admitted it.
"First of all we'd like to apologize for the items that were left behind, our last conversation over the phone was based on the premise that every electronic device was picked up but it looks like our foreman was not totally honest about it, this situation is not acceptable in our business that we based on trust between us, our customers and our workers, therefore he will be treated accordingly."
I thought this would be easily resolved. They'd admitted their error. Surely they'd go pick up the computers, apologize for the confusion, and we'd move on.
I was naive. The admission was a lie. It was just part of the scam.
The Extortion Playbook: Pay to See Your Own Property
Instead of fixing their "mistake," Barahona's began their real business model: extortion.
"We need $1,000 to open the boxes and take photos of your computers," they said.
Wait, what? You want me to pay you to prove you have my property that you already admitted you didn't pick up?
But they had all my other belongings hostage. What choice did I have?
Then $1,000 became $2,040. Then $4,787.31. Then $9,176.25. Each time with a new excuse. Each time demanding cash only. Each time threatening to auction everything if I didn't pay.
Seven Months of Psychological Torture
From March to September 2024, I lived in a special kind of hell that only victims of fraud understand. Every day, I would email or call:
"Can you please just send me one photo of my computers?"
And every day, they had an excuse:
- "The warehouse is closed for inventory"
- "I need management approval"
- "I'll send them tomorrow"
- "Pay first, then we'll send photos"
Tomorrow never came. The photos never came. For seven months.
I sent over 50 emails. Made dozens of calls. Begged. Pleaded. Offered to pay everything they asked if they would just show me one single photo proving my computers existed in their warehouse.
Nothing.
The Kill Shot: "We Sold Everything"
On October 1, 2024, I received the email that ended it all:
"The deadline was Sept 24th for you to pay, we did not receive any payment therefore your goods were transferred to an Auction Company."
Just like that. Everything gone. My business equipment. My artwork. Gifts from my elderly mother. Photo albums. Sentimental items that money can't replace.
My entire life, sold to strangers because I wouldn't pay extortion money without proof they even had my property.
The Web of Lies: Multiple Names, Same Scam
As I researched in horror, I discovered the truth. Barahona's Professional Moving & Storage operates under multiple names:
- Frontline Moving & Storage (not even registered in California)
- Barahona Movers
- Various other aliases
Why so many names? Simple. When one name gets too many horrible reviews, they switch to another. When victims search for reviews of "Frontline Moving," they won't find the Barahona complaints. It's a shell game designed to find fresh victims.
The Other Victims: You're Not Alone
I'm not their only victim. YouTube has videos warning about them. Yelp reviews tell similar stories. Google reviews scream warnings. The pattern is always the same:
- Falsify the inventory
- Claim a "mistake" when caught
- Demand escalating cash payments
- Never provide proof of possession
- Auction everything
- Blame the victim for "not paying"
They've perfected this system. They know exactly how long they can delay before auctioning. They know how to create enough confusion about company names to avoid accountability. They know people will often pay rather than lose everything.
How They Get Away With It
You might wonder: How is this legal? How are they still in business?
Here's their genius: They hide behind legitimate-looking paperwork. They have real DOT numbers. They file the minimum required documents. When you're overseas or across the country, you can't physically check on your property.
By the time you realize it's a scam, they've already sold everything and they point to complicated contracts and storage laws.
Most victims don't have $250,000 worth of property. Most can't afford lawyers. Most are so emotionally destroyed they just want to forget it happened. So Adolfo Barahona and his crew continue operating, finding new victims every day.
The Red Flags I Missed (Don't Miss Them)
Looking back, the warning signs were there:
- Multiple company names for the same address
- Demands for cash only payments
- Refusal to provide photos of stored items
- Escalating fees that make no sense
- Vague inventory terms like "box" instead of specific items
- Always an excuse for why they can't provide basic information
- Creating urgency with auction threats
What You Can Do To Protect Yourself
If you haven't hired them yet:
- RUN. Find literally any other moving company
- Check BBB ratings
- Search the company name + "scam" or "fraud"
- Verify their business registration with the California Secretary of State
- If they operate under multiple names, that's a massive red flag
If they already have your property:
- Document EVERYTHING
- Take photos of every item before pickup
- Demand photographic proof of delivery to storage
- Record all phone calls (legal in California with notice)
- Pay NOTHING without proof of possession
- Contact the DOT and California Bureau of Household Goods and Services immediately
- Consider getting a lawyer NOW, not after they auction everything
The Aftermath: Living with the Loss
It's been months since they stole everything. I still wake up thinking about items I'll never see again. Not just the expensive computers that killed my business, but the little things. The painting I made for my mother. The sculpture a friend gave me. The photo album from college.
They didn't just steal my property. They stole my sense of security. They stole my trust in professional services. They stole months of my life trying to get answers.
My Promise to You
I'm sharing this story for one reason: To prevent Adolfo Barahona and his criminal network from destroying another life.
I've filed complaints with:
- The Better Business Bureau
- The Department of Transportation
- The California Attorney General
- The FBI's Internet Crime Division
- Local police in multiple jurisdictions
I'm suing them in court. I'm posting this story everywhere I can. I will not stop until they're shut down.
Share This Warning
If you've read this far, please share this story. Post it on Facebook. Tweet it. Send it to anyone considering a move in California.
Every share might save someone from losing everything they own to these criminals masquerading as a moving company.
Remember the names:
- Barahona's Professional Moving & Storage
- Frontline Moving & Storage
- Adolfo Barahona
Remember their addresses:
- 6610 Trost Ave, North Hollywood, CA
- 11601 Pendleton St, Sun Valley, CA
Remember: They are not movers. They are thieves.
The Legal Battle: How They Fight to Keep Your Property
When you try to get justice against Barahona's Moving, you're not just fighting the company - you're fighting their legal team at Stone | Dean LLP, a firm that specializes in defending transportation companies against victims like me.
Their strategy seems designed to exhaust victims:
Meet Gregg Garfinkel
https://stonedeanlaw.com/our-people/attorneys/gregg-garfinkel/
The Federal Court Shuffle: When I filed my case in California Superior Court - where it belonged since everything happened in California - their attorneys immediately had it removed to federal court. They argued interstate commerce issues, even though my property never left California and was auctioned in California.
After months of delays and legal expenses, the federal court agreed with me - this wasn't a federal case. But by then, I'd lost precious time and money, and had to start over.
The Jurisdiction Game: Despite both the company and I being in California, with all actions occurring in California, they've fought to prevent the case from being heard in the most logical venue.
The Paper Avalanche: Motion after motion, delay after delay. Each one costs money to respond to. Each one takes time. Many victims simply give up.
This is why these companies continue operating - they know most victims can't afford the legal battle that follows.