An $800,000 Cab Ride
A 13 mile car ride in New York ended up costing the passenger almost $800,000 and the thing is, the passenger was so rich he never even knew he was being charged that much. According to The NY Post, Tony Chan paid for his car trip using an AMEX card. The driver decided to keep charging Tony all the time. Almost every day and he got away with it for well over a year. It all started in July 2008, but despite charges of up to $19,000 a shot for limo services, Tony Chan never caught on. It was only when a bank security expert stumbled on all the charges that the Secret Service was called in and the limo driver arrested.
The thing is, he might get away with it because Tony Chan is facing serious financial difficulties at home in Hong Kong and is embroiled in lots of legal controversies of his own.
"These developments, experts said, open the door for Rahhaoui to claim that Chan had authorized the AmEx charges for a range of limousine services over several months and was now claiming fraud only because he faces tax and legal woes in Hong Kong."
Can you imagine being so rich that you don't notice $800K missing?
Wasn't that sorta simiiar to the stylist who kept charging celbs for haircuts that never took place. She got away with it for a few years.
ReplyDeleteThe trick is not to over charge
19k a pop is a bit of a red flag.
My Mother didn't drive and used to hire taxis to drive her to other states. She would get in and say Biloxi please.
ReplyDeleteI would be afraid to get close to those choppers.
ReplyDeleteI hate cabs. I'll just leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine..............
ReplyDeleteno i cant ...one day though i notice is 8 dollars is missing from my account
ReplyDeleteI'm astounded. Really? The cab driver (or is it a limo driver) feels entitled to that $800k? Ridiculous if it's true.
ReplyDeletewow! at what point does the freaking secret service have to step in and notice things for you? =O *wants insane amounts of $ so i don't notice overcharges either*
ReplyDeleteYou can pay for a cab with a credit card??? Or you can if you're wealthy? I thought it was a cash only transaction??
ReplyDeleteCan't he just dispute the charges if the dude got arrested? Amex is one company that will not screw you over when you dispute charges.
Confusing headline - it's a car service, not a cab.
ReplyDelete@ MCH - where do you live? As far as I know, cabs in Canada have always accepted credit cards, but if they're drivers (opposed to owners) they prefer cash because they aren't given the fare $ until after it's gone through the cc company.
ReplyDelete@RocketQueen - I live in NC. I don't take cabs here much but when we have it's been cash only. I have probably taken more cabs in other cities & I don't recall it ever being an option. That would be awesome if they did b/c I NEVER have cash.
ReplyDeleteAh, are you rooting for Jane on Survivor? ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, now I'm going to ask around about cards here - I really only started taking cabs maybe ten years ago, and most REALLY prefer cash. They make a heavy "sighing" sound when you bring out the plastic.
RQ: I have never watched Survivor! Where is she from? I live in Asheville.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that sounds about right w/ the cabbies. I guess that is what happened w/ the guy in this story! :)
@RQ - She lives about 4 hours east of me. Very cool that she's on there though!
ReplyDeleteI ask because she and another player this season (maybe Chase?) are both from NC and it's come up in a big way. One of the players accidentally called it "South Carolina" and she was NOT impressed, to say the least. lol. I believe one of my favourite artists, Tori Amos, is from there!
ReplyDelete@RocketQueen - Funny! I grew up in both NJ & SC but I don't like to claim the SC part. HA. :) I did not know that about Tori Amos! She sure is. I love her too.
ReplyDelete"I wanna be a billionaire..."
ReplyDeleteThis guy is rich beyond believe - he conned a dying gazilianaire woman in HK, and her surviving siblings were suing him for fraud, embezzlement, etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, not a nice guy.