Unlicensed Super Shuttle Driver Busted For Soliciting Passengers At JFK
March 17, 2015, 1:20 p.m.
An alleged fake cab driver was busted shuttling passengers from JFK for a wildly inflated fare, allegedly luring them by claiming the AirTrain was broken.
An alleged fake cab driver was busted shuttling passengers from JFK for a wildly inflated fare, allegedly luring them by claiming the AirTrain was broken, the Queens DA announced today.
Long Island man Barnabas Laurent, 47, was arrested Saturday for posing as a Super Shuttle driver, despite not actually possessing a livery license. According to the Post, Laurent even went so far as to post a fake price list, charging passengers $435 for a jaunt to the UWS. This, he noted, did not include the cost of "tolls, gratuities, taxes."
Laurent was apparently busted after a Port Authority officer overheard him offering to take a potential fare (sucker) to Jamaica. He has been charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation and criminal trespass and unlawful solicitation of ground transportation.
“It is important that travelers visiting New York City are provided with a safe and welcoming atmosphere at our airports," Queens DA Richard Brown said in a statement. "Unregulated taxis and unscrupulous drivers—who are not properly licensed and do not carry appropriate insurance—put riders at risk. The defendant allegedly lied to arriving visitors by stating that the Air Train wasn’t running and that he was a Super Shuttle driver.”
