New York taxi mogul Evgeny “Gene” Freidman has been accused of transferring more than $70 million worth of real estate into trusts in a game of keep-away from ex-lender Citibank N.A., which is trying to take over the licenses that Freidman’s companies use to operate 46 taxis in the city, the Wall Street Journal reported today. In a lawsuit, Citibank officials said that Freidman transferred properties several months after the bank sued in March to collect some $34 million in unpaid loans—an improper maneuver to keep the properties from the bank and other creditors who are pursuing his companies for money. Worried that the trust controllers — Freidman’s lawyer and two business associates — will move the properties even further out of reach, Citibank officials asked a bankruptcy judge last week to forbid Freidman from transferring any more of his assets.
