Is this broker legitimate?
Before hauling a load, confirm the entity offering it holds active FMCSA broker authority and carries the required surety bond. A revoked authority or a missing bond is the single most common sign of broker fraud and double-brokering. These are factual FMCSA records — DOTScreener does not rate or score brokers.
Broker Trust Signals
Broker operating authority
Active broker authority on file with FMCSA.
Surety bond / trust fund
$75K on file — meets the $75K federal minimum. Surety: MERCHANTS NATIONAL BONDING, INC.
Authority tenure
Authority grant date not in public record.
Carrier reviews on DOTScreener
No carrier reviews on DOTScreener yet. Verified reviews appear here once carriers who screened + dispatched with this broker rate the experience. How reviews work →
Authority & Financial Responsibility
- Operating Status
- Authorized
- Authority Status
- Active
- Entity Type
- Broker Only
- Authority Granted
- —
- Authority Age
- 6 mo
- Bond / Trust On File
- $75K
- Federal Minimum
- $75K (BMC-84 / BMC-85)
- Domiciled
- FORT WAYNE, IN
Bond Filings (FMCSA L&I)
- Active
Surety Bond (BMC-84)
MERCHANTS NATIONAL BONDING, INC · #101690674
Effective 2026-01-12 · Cancels 2027-01-12
552 days in the last 24 months with no bond on file — uncovered exposure for shipments during the gap.
Contingent Coverage (broker-provided)
Contingent cargo and contingent auto-liability are optional — not every broker carries them, and their absence is not a negative signal. The required $75K surety bond is shown above. Documents here are provided by the broker and are not verified by DOTScreener.
This broker has not provided contingent cargo or contingent auto-liability documents. These are optional — you can still work with this broker.
Officers & Identity Cluster
- Officer (Primary)
- IVAN LOPATIN
- Officer (Secondary)
- —
Relationship Cluster Detected
This company officer of record is named on 2 other DOT registrations. Common officers can reflect legitimate multi-entity operators (holding companies, multi-location businesses) as well as serial re-registration — review the linked records and operating timeline below.
Linked records: UNIT POINT LLC (IL) · DELIVERY BY WHEELS INC (IN)
Sourced from the FMCSA Company Census. Shared contact and officer counts reflect public-record overlap with other USDOT registrations — surfaced for review, not as a verdict.