New York taxi gang forces couple to pay $470 for a 10-minute ride

LONDON: A British couple were the victims of a scam by a rogue New York taxi gang who forced them to pay $470 - for a 10-minute ride.

Craig Nickels, 30, and his fiancee Ellie Austin, 24, were scared into handing over the cash by two men who picked them up outside John F Kennedy airport. The pair’s nightmare started after they landed in New York ‘”exhausted” - after saving up for months to afford the trip from Manchester Airport earlier this month.

According to Nickels, they got in the car of a man who stood in the airport entrance and offered them a cab to their hotel. Nickels, from Derby, assumed it would go on the meter and cost $50.

Instead, the pair was led to a private car park away from the taxi rank and into a minibus driven by a second man.

The second man asked them for $20 for the parking fee - which they presumed would be taken off the bill - and told them they’d sort the fare “when we get there.”

“He started explaining to us that there were new toll fees for going between borough and over bridges,” recalled Craig. “He then told me to take me to Manhattan it was going to be $900. Me and the Mrs couldn’t believe what we were hearing. I told him to pull over.” “We only had $900 total. I panicked. I had the engagement ring in the back in the bags,” he said. “I knew it was supposed to be 50 or 60 dollars but I started to get scared. There were two guys and I had no idea what they were going to do.