Partner of Trump's lawyer pleads guilty

ALBANY, N.Y. _ Disbarred New York City attorney and businessman Evgeny "Gene" Freidman, an associate of President Donald J. Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony tax fraud in Albany County Court in a deal that reportedly requires he cooperate in state and federal investigations.

Freidman, the chief executive officer of Taxi Club Management dubbed the "taxi king" of New York City, pleaded guilty before Judge Peter Lynch to resolve allegations he stole more than $5 million from the state and evaded taxes.

The plea deal was first reported by The New York Times, which cited an unnamed source who said Freidman had agreed to assist in the state and federal probe.

In June, prosecutors for now-former state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman charged Freidman _ a native of Russia who allegedly boasted repeatedly of assets exceeding $130 million _ with failing to pay the state $5 million between 2012 and 2015.

On Tuesday, Freidman agreed to pay restitution and judgments totaling $5 million to New York state. He had managed more than 800 medallion taxicabs through four companies.

"Today, the 'Taxi King' admitted that he built his empire by stealing from New Yorkers," Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a statement. "Freidman pocketed money that should have provided much-needed investment in our transit system _ and he'll now have to pay back every cent. Our office will continue to hold accountable those who cheat the system."

On May 5, a New York Times article headlined, "How Michael Cohen, Trump's Fixer, Built a Shadowy Business Empire," reported that Cohen and Freidman were business partners and mentioned the pending state case against Freidman in Albany.

Cohen is under investigation by federal prosecutors, who last month conducted searches on his office and other locations. Material seized in those searches is being processed by a special master to prevent the disclosure of information covered by attorney-client privilege.

Cohen's duties for Trump included setting up a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with porn star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, who has alleged she had a sexual encounter with the then-real estate mogul in 2006.

The state tax case against Freidman was in Albany because tax returns are filed here. Almost every taxicab ride in the five boroughs is charged a 50-cent tax, money that helps fund the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The charges last June alleged Freidman and his chief financial officer, Andreea Dumitru, 42, of Queens, ran a scheme to withhold the funds by improperly filing or failing to file returns, failing to pay the tax on filed returns and by filing false returns.

At that time, Lynch ordered Freidman held on $500,000 bail on a five-count indictment accusing him and Dumitru of first-degree criminal tax fraud and first-degree grand larceny, which carried the possibility of 81/3 to 25 years in prison. Freidman later made bail.

At that 2017 arraignment, Assistant Attorney General John Healy asked Lynch to hold Freidman without bail or on "no less than $5 million" given that Freidman had repeatedly boasted of assets exceeding $130 million.

The prosecutor said Freidman, a dual citizen of the United States and Russia, owns two homes in the south of France where he often travels.

"This defendant is the self-anointed taxi king of the city of New York," Healy said.

Healy had noted the "serious and egregious nature of the charges," Freidman's exposure to prison time and ties outside New York. In 2015, Freidman put more than $60 million of his assets into offshore trusts with a trustee in Moscow, the prosecutor said.

Healy said Freidman had a recent conviction for harassment and faced charges he made threats to an adversary in a civil suit.

Under his plea deal Tuesday, Freidman is expected to receive five years' probation.

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