Lawsuit accuses Houston trucking company of cheating drivers out of commission

HOUSTON - Several independent truck drivers are suing a transportation company because they say they were cheated of their commission for years.

"Basically I was just robbed," said Larry Holton. Holton is one of the eight independent truck drivers now suing ASAP Freight Systems Inc.

"These eight truck drivers were all told they would be paid a certain percentage based on a certain calculation," said attorney Patrick O'Hara. "When they confronted ASAP about it 'Oh no that's not what the contract means it means something else.'"

"I brought it to their attention, they put it on the back burner," said Holton. "It just never stopped."

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Three of the drivers suing are African American and two are Hispanic.

"How they treated them was like second-class citizens," said community activist Quannel X. "We have an absolute problem with that."

The minority truck drivers say they were told they should just be grateful they had a job.

"Ingratitude will make you broke, ingratitude will make you homeless, ingratitude will make you unemployed," Quannel X said.

The court document asking for sanctions against ASAP Freight Systems Inc. says the CEO Marek Menger, who is white, wore a Black Lives Matter T-shirt for a videotaped deposition.

"His attorney blacked out his screen, muted it, but you could tell Mr. Menger had just gotten a call. He went off-screen but left the sound on. You could hear Mr. Menger saying 'Oh, I thought it would be funny. It was a joke.' And then he came back with a different shirt on," said O'Hara.

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The court document states Marek Menger may believe that Black people seeking racial equality is a joke but it is not.

We reached out to the attorney representing ASAP Freight Systems Inc for the company's response but we've yet to hear back.