Taxi King's Finance Chief Stole Millions in Taxes: AG

SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS -- The chief financial officer for self-proclaimed "Taxi King" Evgeny Freidman pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud on Thursday for her role in a scheme to steal million of dollars in state taxes.

Freidman, 46, once oversaw 800 medallion taxicabs as CEO of Taxiclub Management Inc., whose reach spanned throughout New York City and had operations in Long Island City and Woodside. But his reign as the city's "Taxi King" came to an end in late May when the mogul pleaded guilty to criminal tax fraud for pocketing $5 million in rider taxes.

Taxiclub Management CFO Andreea Dumitru is now owning up to her part in the multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme, which lasted from January 2012 to December 2015, said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood.

“As we’ve detailed, Andreea Dumitru partnered with Evgeny Freidman to steal from New Yorkers – lining their pockets with tax dollars that should have been invested in our transit system,” Underwood said.

The 43-year-old Sunnyside woman admitted that between January 2015 and February 2016, she pocketed $10,000 in her and Freidman's scheme to withhold money collected from the 50-cent state "MTA Tax" automatically added to each passenger's fare, prosecutors said.

The two instead hid millions from the State Department of Taxation and Finance by underreported the number of taxable rides on their tax returns, according to court documents.

As part of her plea, Dumitru agreed to pay $25,000 in restitution to the State Tax Department and cooperate with the Attorney General's Office ongoing investigation into Freidman's taxicab businesses.

If Dumitru complies with the terms, she'll receive three years' probation at her May 2019 sentencing and will be allowed to withdraw her felony plea in exchange for a misdemeanor criminal tax fraud charge.

Freidman, as part of his guilty plea, agreed to pay $1 million in restitution before his sentencing on May 22, 2019, and repay the remaining $4 million in installments.

(Lead Photo via Shutterstock)