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financial struggles of NYC taxi medallion owners included allegations of TLC-licensed broker
misconduct.
Specifically, the Broker allegations include failing to make clients aware of basic
loan or purchase agreement terms, failing to act in the interests of their clients, not disclosing
financial interests Brokers had in loan agreements, and facilitating unsound lending practices.
In response to these allegations and to inform broader City efforts to support taxi drivers, Mayor
de Blasio ordered a 45-day review of Broker practices be conducted by TLC, DCWP and DOF to
identify instances of Broker misconduct and develop a comprehensive regulatory response
addressing any issues identified that fall beyond the scope of current Broker regulations provided
in TLC Rules and local law. This report details the work completed by TLC, DCWP and DOF,
the findings of the agencies’ investigation, and recommendations to address identified issues and
deficiencies. Due to the sensitive and personal information shared by drivers and ongoing
investigations into brokers, lenders, and their agents, drivers interviewed by TLC, DCWP and
DOF, and Brokers currently under ongoing investigation are not identified in this report.
3. Methodology and Findings
3.1 Broker Directives
To comprehensively understand the services currently offered by Brokers, as well as the
information they provide their clients, TLC directed the 20 licensed Brokers to submit copies of
all documents and agreements provided to their clients between June 1, 2016 and May 29, 2019.
Of the 20 Brokers, three failed to respond to the directive and were issued summonses by TLC.
Upon receiving the summons, two Brokers complied with the directive. One affirmed that they
had no documents from the relevant period, while the other provided the requested
documentation. TLC enforcement officers completed an office inspection of the final
nonresponsive Broker. During their visit, the Broker signed an affirmation that they had no
documents from the relevant period.
In total, seven of the 20 Brokers affirmed that they had no documents from the relevant period.
A review of TLC’s medallion transfer database revealed no medallion transfer activity by these
Brokers between June 1, 2016 and May 29, 2019. Additionally, outreach to and information
provided by drivers has thus far revealed no responsive documents or indicated any activity from
these seven Brokers.
TLC undertook a comprehensive review of the records provided by the 13 Brokers. In total,
Brokers submitted 5,513 pages of records to TLC. TLC completed the review of these records in
five phases: (1) an initial intake documenting the type of records received, the medallion(s)
impacted, fees charged and disclosures made by the Brokers of an interest in the transaction; (2)
a comparison to TLC’s medallion transfer database to determine completeness of each Broker’s
submission; (3) a review of submitted records for compliance with applicable TLC Rules; (4) a
Brian Rosenthal, “They Were Conned": How Reckless Loan Devastated a Generation of Taxi Drivers, N.Y. Times,
May 19, 2019. Brian Rosenthal, As Thousands of Taxi Drivers were Trapped in Loans, Top Officials Counted the
Money, N.Y. Times, May 19, 2019.
TLC’s directive was limited by TLC Rule §62-20(a) which currently requires specified information and records be
retained for three years.