Busted!
City administrative-law judges have ruled that six cabbies charged passengers the double-fare suburban rate while inside city limits — the first batch of scofflaws nailed since the scam came to light in March.
Each driver was hit with a $850 fine and has had his license revoked, records show.
It appears as though these scam-hacks are among the worst offenders in the scheme.
The greediest of the six was cabbie Michael John, who ripped off riders 570 times between Sept. 6, 2008, to Feb. 27, 2010, the court found.
The other hacks pulled off the ruse 330, 492, 221, 315, and 231 times.
Earlier this year, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission said there are 545 money-grubbing hacks who pulled off the scam between 50 and 499 times – and a disturbing 88 who did it more than 500 times.
It’s unsure whether these six are just the first in a slew of cases brought before the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.
The most egregious cases also could be prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The widespread scandal has allowed cheating drivers to rake in a total of $1.1 million during the course of 286,000 trips, officials have said.