Northbrook Taxi Executive Sentenced to Prison

CHICAGO, IL — A 68-year-old Northbrook man will face a year and a day in federal prison for illegally obtaining clean titles for salvaged and rebuilt vehicles and using them as taxicabs on Chicago streets.

Alexander Igolnikov, wwner of Seven Amigos Used Cars Inc. and vice president of Chicago Elite Cab Corp., fraudulently obtained paperwork to conceal the history of damaged cars to bypass city laws that prohibit the use of salvaged and rebuilt vehicles as taxi cabs, according to a news release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Illinois office.

Igolnikov pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to transport, receive and possess a counterfeit security, the release states.

His plea agreement stated he and his associates fraudulently obtained “rebuilt” titles for damaged vehicles by submitting false paperwork – including affidavits with the forged signature of an Indiana law enforcement officer – to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

After obtaining the Indiana rebuilt title for a salvaged vehicle, Igolnikov and his associates placed a sticker over the “rebuilt” section of the Indiana certification and then used that to obtain a clean Illinois title from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, the release states.

Igolnikov purchased the newly certified vehicles in the names of Seven Amigos Used Cars, Chicago Elite Cab and other related corporate entities, the plea agreement states.

He and his business associates, including Chicago Elite Cab, operated the fraudulently certified vehicles as taxicabs in Chicago – in violation of the city’s medallion laws, which prohibit any vehicle that was ever issued a “salvage” or “rebuilt” title in any state from being used as a taxicab, the plea agreement states.

Igolnikov’s scheme, which spanned from 2007 to 2010, was uncovered in a federal investigation with the City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office.

U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Change imposed the sentence in federal court in Chicago.