By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — One of the biggest offenders in a group of 59 yellow cab drivers netted for allegedly overcharging city passengers pleaded guilty Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Hassan Chowdhury, 57, was considered the seventh-worst offender on a list of cabbies who allegedly duped riders by illegally setting the meter to charge higher rates for rides within city limits.
Chowdhury admitted he ripped off 3,126 riders of nearly $6,000 over the course of almost two years. He was arrested last fall and pleaded guilty Monday to first degree scheme to defraud in exchange for a sentence of 100 days community service and a two years probation. He had faced up to three years in prison if convicted.
Authorities arrested and charged dozens of cab drivers with scheming to overcharge riders on Sept. 22. Most of the drivers were released without bail after their arraignments in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Chowdhury, who declined to comment on his way out of the courtroom Monday, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 8.
The worst offender was Santiago Rossi, of Hollis, N.Y., who allegedly overcharged 5,127 riders out of more than $11,000 between 2008 and 2010, prosecutors said at the time.
So far, 26 cab drivers have pleaded guilty to felonies in connection to this case, according to the District Attorney's office. None of the cabbies had prior felony convictions and most of them had clean criminal records.
