Dumitru, Freidman (Source AGs office)
June 12, 2017 By Christian Murray
The ‘Taxi King’ and a Sunnyside resident who operate agencies in Woodside and Long Island City have been indicted for failing to pay $5 million in MTA taxes.
Evgeny Freidman, 46, and Andreea Dumitru, 41, from Sunnyside, who operate Taxiclub Management, a company with a fleet of more than 800 medallion taxi cabs with locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Woodside and Long Island City, have been charged for failing to pay the taxes generated from a 50-cent MTA surcharge per cab ride between 2012 and 2015.
According to the charges, the pair avoided paying the surcharge by failing to file tax returns or filing falsified returns which under-reported the actual number of taxable rides.
“The ‘Taxi King’ built his empire by stealing from New Yorkers – pocketing money that should have instead been invested in our transportation system,” said Attorney General Schneiderman in a statement.
“This indictment exposes a blatant scheme to short-change the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the transportation infrastructure relied on by millions of New Yorkers,” said Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion. “Hundreds of honest taxi drivers did their part in collecting the proper fare, however Mr. Freidman and his business partner are accused of manipulating tax filings to put this money right into their own pockets.
Friedman, the CEO, and Dumitru, the CFO, have both been charged with four counts of Criminal Tax Fraud and one count of Grand Larcency and face a maximum sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years imprisonment on each charge.
Freidman has faced mounting legal troubles as he has struggled to maintain his business, as the growth of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft has sent the value of a medallion plummeting, from a high of $1.3 million in 2013 to less than $250,000 in 2017.
An investigation by the attorney general’s labor bureau over payment of drivers resulted in a 2013 settlement for $1.2 million and a 2016 consent order requiring Freidman and four of his medallion management agencies—including the Woodside and Long Island City locations– to pay over $275,000 in damages and fines.
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24 Comments
Its because they are miserable
Why do Romanians always look so miserable? Is it because they smoke so much?
If you have nothing nice to say, shut it!
Smart guy and smart lady. They will get 2 yrs in club fed. Pay a 500k fine and still have a boat load of cash.
They failed to pay taxes on the 50 cent surcharge for 3 yrs? That added up to 5 million? I doubt that the mta inflated the numbers. These people are petty thieves compared to the mta
A thief is a thief no matter if its them or the MTA…they’re both crooks!
She over charged me on s simple will. She is quite capable of doing what the article States. Use the money you robbed from me for your commissary account. Enjoy you earned it.
He looks more like a taxi queen
Wait!!! Aren’t we supposed to blame Uber? Thanks to legalized ride sharing those taxi Medallions are now worth pennies on the dollar!!
Poor Poor Taxi King!
Sunnyside thieves , what else is new. The neighborhood is full of them
She has a law office on 49th St. And Skillman. She specializes in immigration and a lot of people are outside looking for their paperwork. This keeps getting worse and worse.
To those who bitch about the vendor not paying taxes, when they most likely do…read this
She’s a nice lady….I hope she can work thru this….
I totally agree
I hope, if guilty, she goes to jail for 8 1/3 to 25 years. Nice people steal all the time.
Mr. Freidman has very close relationship with Mayor De Blazio, TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi. He had dinner many times with each of them. So, they protected Mr. Freidman when he committed financial fraud cheating on MTA taxes and TLC surcharges. Right now, more than $24 million was stolen by Mr. Freidman in MTA taxes and TLC surcharges. But State blames him for just $ 5 million he did not remit MTA taxes on his own medallions. The rest of
$ 19 million is the MTA taxes and TLC surcharges Mr. Freidman stole on medallions he leased from medallion owners. Both New York TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi and New York Mayor De Blazio should also serve sentence in jail for helping Mr. Freidman commit financial fraud.
This guy is a top donor to Deblaiso:
http://observer.com/2017/06/evgeny-freidman-taxi-king-medallion-yellow-cab-eric-schneiderman-bill-de-blasio/amp/
Anyone who is politically connected is allowed to commit financial crimes in New York. Rob a bodega, you’re going to jail. Don”t pay your taxes (think Al Sharpton), you’re good to go. Think these two will ever make restitution? Think they will ever see a day in jail? Think the guy who was supposed to oversee collection of said MTA taxes will lose his job??? Think again! The MTA is about as dysfunctional as they get, and with Cuomo appointing all the MTA board members, it’s not likely to get better. You’re doing a heck of a job, Hakim!
man, im kinda scared of that lady
Wuss
I think the writer made a mistake in Andreea’s age. She’s gotta be at least 61.
Sam , check his political donations I guess?
Mr. Freidman did not remit MTA taxes he collected for each fare on his own medallions and medallions of customers who lease medallion to him. He stole
$ 5 million in MTA taxes on his medallions and $ 15 million on MTA taxes on his customers. All together more than $ 20 millions in MTA taxes. In addition, Mr. Freidman stole $ 4 millions in TLC surcharges. So, Mr. Freidman stole more than $ 24 millions during 5 years and neither State nor TLC, nor Mayor of New York City, Mr. De Blazio did not stop him for so long time. Could somebody explain me how this happened in New York? Who allowed him to commit financial crimes?
Finally found the reason 7 train is delayed so much. Or should I say MTA execs didn’t get to spend the extra money on expensive parties and absurd salaries?