3 arrested in fake taxi parts scam
Three people were arrested Tuesday in a three-year federal probe that exposed a scam that placed counterfeit auto parts on thousands of city taxi cabs, the New York Post reports.
The auto parts, including brake pads and suspension rings, were packaged to look like they were made by Ford and other manufacturers. They were sold by a multi-state counterfeit ring at higher prices and installed on potentially “thousands” of taxis.
Federal agents raided E&Y Distributors in Long Island City where the fake parts were found. No one from E&Y were arrested.
Officials said the public should not be worried as taxis undergo regular inspections, and any bad parts would show up in those inspections.
Shashi Malhortra, 67, of Norwood, N.J., Fadi Kilanie, 28, of Englewood, N.J. and Richard Dininni, 57, of Easton, Penn. carried out the fraud since October 2011 by operating separate sham companies that repackaged the knockoff parts.
