Ohio transportation company, 3 trucking affiliates file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

An Ohio-based transportation company and three of its trucking company affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, despite receiving loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5AAB Holding LLC of Columbus, Ohio, along with its affiliates, 5AAB Transport, Heavy Diesel Service and SJS Transport, filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Monday.

In its filing, 5AAB Holding lists its assets as between $100,000 and $500,000 and its liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. It states it has up to 49 creditors.

5AAB Holding maintains that no funds will be available for unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees. However, the company’s three affiliates say that funds will be available to unsecured creditors once it reorganizes, according to court filings.

5AAB Holding’s top unsecured creditors

Among the transportation company’s top unsecured creditors are its factoring company, CarrierNet Group Financial of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, owed nearly $208,000; First Financial Bank of Cincinnati, owed $179,000; and De Lage Landen of Wayne, Pennsylvania, owed nearly $25,000 for vehicle loans.

Court filings state that two of 5AAB Holding’s affiliates, 5AAB Transport and Heavy Diesel Service, received a total of $59,000 in PPP funds. The petitions list the SBA lender as CFBank of Columbus.

5AAB Transport, which hauls general freight and mail for the U.S. Postal Service, has 15 power units and 14 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website. SJS Transport has two power units and one driver, according to the FMCSA’s website.

The bankruptcy petition lists Navdeep Sidhu and Hardeep Singh as the shareholders of 5AAB Holding and the three entities. Sidhu and Singh did not respond to FreightWaves’ request for comment.

Got a tip? Contact Clarissa Hawes at chawes@freightwaves.com.