Gene Freidman

Evgeny Alender Freidman (Russian: Евгений Алендер Фридман;[1]), known as Gene Freidman,[2] is a controversial Russian-American businessman who formerly owned a large taxi fleet in New York City, Taxi Club Management (TCM). He is a disbarred attorney who has been dubbed the "Taxi King" or "Kingpin."[3][4]

He is a convicted felon, and has faced repeated criminal and civil legal issues. [5]

Early life and education

Born into a Jewish family in Leningrad, Freidman and his family immigrated to the United States as refugees in 1976.[6] He attended public schools in Queens before his admission to The Bronx High School of Science, then went on to graduate with a B.S. degree from Skidmore College in 1992. He received his J.D. degree from Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City and was admitted to practice law [7] but was later disbarred.

Career

Starting with his father's taxi fleet, Freidman began with 60 yellow cabs and expanded to 900 by 2015.[1] He led the company from a valuation of $2.5 million in 1996 to $120 million in 2009.[8] In 2008, Freidman was listed on Crain's New York Business list of "40 Under 40".[9] Taxi Club Management permanently closed in 2018.

While Michael Cohen worked for The Trump Organization, he had had Freidman manage his remaining taxi fleet, after Simon Garber purchased the management of most of Cohen's large fleet.[10][11]

In 2013, Freidman reached a settlement with the New York State Attorney General's office and the Taxi and Limousine Commission over excessive charges to taxi drivers working for three of Freidman's companies. Freidman agreed to pay $750,000 in restitution to drivers and $500,000 in fines.[12][13] The Attorney General sued Freidman in April 2015 for failing to live up to the terms of the 2013 settlement and for further violations.[14][15][16] The suit was settled in April 2016 with Freidman required to pay over $250,000 in fines, damages, and restitution.[17]

In July 2016, Freidman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for companies that own approximately 90 of his nearly 900 taxi medallions, in an attempt to protect those medallions from foreclosure action by lenders. In December 2016, he agreed to surrender 46 of his medallions to settle obligations to Citibank.[18] In September 2016 Freidman was evicted from his longtime headquarters after falling $170,000 behind on his rent.[19][20] In April 2017 the Taxi and Limosine Commission refused to renew more than 800 of Freidman's licenses which had expired. According to a report at that time, Freidman still owned about 150 taxi medallions.[21]

In June 2017, Freidman along with Taxi Club Management's CFO Andreea Dumitru were indicted with four counts of criminal tax fraud in the first degree and one count of grand larceny in the first degree.[22][23] The indictments alleged that Freidman's company stole $5 million (USD) by never paying the state for a 50-cent surcharge, known as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority tax. On May 22, 2018, Freidman pleaded guilty to one count of criminal tax fraud in the second degree.[24] As part of his plea deal within Freidman must pay restitution in the amount of $1,000,000 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Freidman’s sentence was suspended to allow him to complete his restitution payments. If he satisfies the terms of the agreement, he will be sentenced to 5 years’ probation.[25][26]

Freidman was ordered to Cook County Jail on Dec. 11, 2017 by Judge David B. Atkins for "indirect criminal contempt of court" for a violation of a court order from June 15, 2016. From a lawsuit with his former partner Savas Tsitiridis, both parties had been ordered not to have a Dispatch taxi employee, Anita Cisneros, "to perform work which is not for the exclusive benefit of Dispatch or Pure." In December 2017, Freidman served a 28 day sentence in Cook County Jail in Chicago, IL.[27][28]

Disbarment

On July 13, 2017, Freidman was suspended from practicing law then, on May 1, 2018; he was barred from practicing law as an attorney in New York, for having failed to respond to notices or appear for investigation related to his suspension.[29]

Sexual harassment lawsuit

In June 2018, Freidman lost a lawsuit to his former assistant whom he was found to have repeatedly sexually harassed. A New York court ordered him to pay $1.3 million in damages.[30][31][32]

Politics

Freidman raised more than $50,000 for Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign and arranged meetings between City Hall and the head of the NYPD sergeants union.[33][34]

References
  1. Grant, Alexander (2 June 2015). "Проблемы «короля желтых кэбов» Нью-Йорка". Russkaya Reklama Novosti (in Russian). Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. Barro, Josh (10 April 2015). "New York Taxi Mogul, Seeking a Bailout, Says He's Too Big to Fail". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  3. Marsh, Julia; Fears, Danika (16 March 2015). "'Taxi Kingpin' in massive debt thanks to Uber". New York Post. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. "About Dispatch Taxi Affiliation Inc Service – Chicago Taxi Service". DispatchTaxi.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  5. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/evgeny-freidman-michael-cohens-business-partner-known-as-the-taxi-king-pleads-guilty-to-fraud/
  6. Grant, Alexander (11 April 2017). "«Короля желтых кэбов» преследуют неприятности | Еврейский Мир". Yevreisky Mir (in Russian). Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  7. Chan, Sewell (4 November 2005). "On the Street: Cleaner-Running Cabs". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  8. "Evgeny Freidman CEO of Taxi Club Management". YellowCabNYC.com. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  9. "Evgeny Freidman – 2008–40 Under Forty". mycrains.crainsnewyork.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  10. Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom; Leonnig, Carol (April 12, 2018). "FBI raid sought Trump lawyer's communications with bank that loaned him money against his taxi business". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  11. Leonnig, Carol D.; Hamburger, Tom; Barrett, Devlin (April 9, 2018). "Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  12. Flegenheimer, Matt (19 December 2013). "Taxi Industry Bids the Bloomberg Era a Not-So-Fond Farewell". New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  13. Donohue, Pete. "Taxi mogul to pay $1.2 million over allegations he was ripping off cab drivers". New York Daily News (10 December 2013). Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  14. Fischer, Ben (April 23, 2015). "Schneiderman sues NYC's biggest taxi mogul". New York Business Journal. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  15. "A.G. Schneiderman Sues Evgeny Freidman And His Taxi Management Companies For Allegedly Violating Taxi Drivers' Rights And Breaching Settlement Agreement". New York Press Office. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  16. Popowitz, Arthur. "Taxi Mogul Freidman Slapped with Lawsuit by AG for Cheating Drivers". Jewish Voice. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  17. "A.G. Schneiderman Obtains Consent Order Requiring Evgeny Freidman's Taxi Companies To Hire Independent Monitor To Protect Drivers' Rights". New York City Press Office. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  18. "Taxi tycoon to cough up cabs, medallions to pay off debt". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  19. Furfaro, Danielle. "Controversial 'Taxi King' evicted from longtime headquarters". New York Post. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  20. Hoffer, Jim. "Investigators exclusive: Taxi king who owes millions evicted from HQ". WABC-TV. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  21. Furfaro, Danielle. "Taxi King no longer allowed to manage hundreds of medallions". New York Post. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  22. "NYC 'Taxi King' accused of failing to pay $5 million in taxes intended for MTA improvements". WPIX 11 New York. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  23. "The People of the State of New York against Evegeny Freidman and Andreea Dumitru" (PDF). ag.ny.gov.
  24. https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-underwood-and-acting-tax-commissioner-manion-announce-conviction-taxi-king-evgeny
  25. "Michael Cohen's Business Partner Agrees to Cooperate as Part of Plea Deal". Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  26. "A.G. Underwood And Acting Tax Commissioner Manion Announce Conviction Of "Taxi King" Evgeny Freidman For Stealing Nearly $5 Million In MTA Taxes | New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  27. "Gene Freidman Jailed". Chicago Dispatcher. December 5, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  28. Lutfallah, George (December 19, 2017). "Freidman Jailed". Chicago Dispatcher. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  29. "Matter of Freidman (2018 NY Slip Op 03116)". www.nycourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  30. https://nypost.com/2018/06/26/taxi-king-must-pay-1-3m-to-ex-assistant-after-sex-harassment/
  31. Leagle "Gutierrez v. Taxi Club Managemen, Inc.", United States District Court, E.D., New York via Leagle.com, July 16, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  32. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-freidman-harassment-federal-ruling-20180626-story.html
  33. Johnson, Richard (9 December 2013). "Taxi king Evgeny Freidman marks a milestone". Page Six. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  34. "Report: City Hall's Ice Cold Relations Thaw Out With the Help of Taxi Kingpin". jpupdates.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
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