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Intaboro Acres, Inc. has been operating in Queens for more than 40 years.
By Forum Staff
Three former officials and the office manager of Intaboro Acres, Inc., a black car taxi cooperative in Ozone Park, have been indicted on charges that they bilked the cooperative out of more than $700,000 form 2007 to 2014
According to DA Richard Brown, the defendants, assigned with watching out for the best interest of the shareholders were entrusted to maintain the Queens based operation, in business for more than forty years. “Instead, the defendants are accused of using the cooperative – both individually and in concert with each other – as their own personal piggy bank”, said Brown. He noted the four defendants resigned their positions after being confronted by the shareholders.
Identified as Intaboro’s former president was Iqbal Ali, 60, of 29 Hatfield Place on Staten Island, former vice-president Kubilay Durantas, 55, of 110 Connolly Avenue on Staten Island, former treasurer Mitat Beymolla, 62, of 2689 Grand Avenue in Baldwin, New York, and former officer manager Lisa Cruz, 49, of 33 Steward Street in Bay Shore, New York who each face numerous charges.
They are each charged in a ten-count indictment with two counts of second-degree grand larceny and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
After facing a judge, defendants Durantas, Beymolla and Cruz were released on their own recognizance and ordered to return to court on December 13, 2016. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Ali. Intaboro Acres Inc., with offices located at 88-19 101st Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, is a “black car base” taxi cooperative corporation. As a taxi cooperative corporation, Intaboro’s drivers are shareholders in the cooperative, which gives them “radio rights” or the right to drive a car dispatched by Intaboro. In 2005, the defendants Ali, Durantas and Beymolla were directors of the Intaboro cooperative. That same year Ali was elected president and Durantas was elected vice president. Thereafter, Beymolla was elected as treasurer. According to the criminal charges, between the period of January 2007 and February 2014, a forensic review of the cooperative’s business records showed a systemic pattern of moving money out of the cooperative’s accounts and being utilized by the three officials and office manager Cruz to pay for personal, non-business related expenses. Numerous personal loans were taken out by the defendants and then those personal loans were paid back by use of the cooperative’s funds. In other instances, numerous personal vehicles were purchased with the cooperative’s money, personal credit card bills were paid back with cooperative funds, a swimming pool was constructed at the home of defendant Durantas using cooperative money and cooperative checks were deposited into the defendants’ personal bank accounts.
If convicted, each of the defendants could face up to 15 years in prison.
