The poster boy for the latest cabby overcharge scam lost his license and was hit with a hefty fine yesterday as lawmakers demanded that city officials slam the brakes on fare-cheating scandals.
Crooked rookie hack Emad Anwar Nochy Wanass was found guilty at a city-administration hearing in Queens for charging unsuspecting passengers phantom bridge and tunnel tolls.
Wanass, who is from Egypt and has been living here for three years, later admitted he had overcharged his riders, as The Post first reported yesterday.
“The TLC, every time, they charge me for complaints and tickets,” he said.
The Ridgewood, Queens, resident said he’s glad he was stripped of his taxi license — which he tore up.
“It’s the worst job in the city,” he added.
He’ll still have to fork over $2,500 in fines.
TLC investigators said that, in the past six months, more than a dozen yellow-cab drivers have pulled the ruse. They’re still trying to determine how widespread the scam is.
It’s the third overcharge scam since 2010, prompting City Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca to pen a scathing letter yesterday to TLC Chairman David Yassky, The Post has learned.
“I would ask that the TLC . . . work to close any regulatory or enforcement loopholes so schemes like this can’t occur in the future,” Vacca wrote.
He also said he’s mulling legislation that will keep fare details on the outside of cabs — a new cab design change would remove it in favor of a “metered rate” symbol.
Wanass was supposed to plead not guilty at a city administrative court, but fled after being confronted by a Post reporter.
The TLC presented five bogus taxi receipts as evidence, though officials said Wanass ripped off 273 customers for a total of $620.
Some of the phony tolls were for rides in Manhattan, which prompted administrative Judge Martin Kramer to quip, “As far as I know, there are no rivers [to cross].”
Wanass’ lawyer Razwin Raja weakly suggested that the meters were defective.
“But the judge shot back, “It seems improbable this poor man found himself in two cabs with defective meters.”