CHICAGO
A Northbrook man plead guilty Thursday to charges that he illegally obtained clean titles for salvaged and rebuilt vehicles that were used as taxis in Chicago, officials said.
As the owner of Seven Amigos Used Cars Inc., Alexander Igolnikovraudulently obtained paperwork to conceal the history of the damaged cars in order to bypass City of Chicago laws.
Those laws prohibit the use of salvaged and rebuilt vehicles as taxicabs, according officials.
Federal prosecutors contend that Igolnikov, who also served as vice president of Chicago Elite Cab Corp., caused about 180 impaired vehicles to be used as taxicabs on Chicago streets after they were falsely given clean titles in Indiana and Illinois, according Igolnikovraudulently plea agreement.
Igolnikov and his business associates, including Chicago Elite Cab, operated the fraudulently certified vehicles as taxicabs in Chicago—in violation of the city’s laws, which prohibit any vehicle that was ever issued a “salvage” or “rebuilt” title in any state from being used as a taxicab, the plea agreement states.
Igolnikov’s scheme, which spanned from 2007 through April 2010, was uncovered in an investigation by federal authorities and the City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office.
Igolnikov, 68, of Northbrook, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport, receive and possess a counterfeit security. He is facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 19.
As part of the plea agreement, Igolnikov reserved the right to dispute the total number of vehicles involved in the scheme.
After procuring from online auction sites significantly damaged cars with salvage titles, Igolnikov and his associates fraudulently obtained “rebuilt” titles for those damaged vehicles by submitting false paperwork– including affidavits with the forged signature of an Indiana law enforcement officer—to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the plea agreement states.
The vehicles were then transported to the Chicago business of Chicago Carriage Taxi Company, which was also used by Seven Amigos Used Cars.
After obtaining the Indiana rebuilt title for a salvaged vehicle, Igolnikov and his associates placed a sticker over the “rebuilt” section of the Indiana certification and then used that title to obtain a clean Illinois title from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, according to the plea agreement.
Igolnikov purchased the newly certified vehicles in the names of Seven Amigos Used Cars, Chicago Elite Cab and other related corporate entities, the plea agreement states.