Police: Ice cream trucks owe NYC $4.5M in fines

Forty-six ice cream trucks apparently operated by New York Ice Cream have been seized by law enforcement earlier this week after an investigation unveiled a scam that allowed the truck’s owners to rack up 22,000 violations and $4.5M in unpaid fines.

According to the city’s complaint, the truck’s owners allegedly violated traffic safety laws, including running red lights, parking near fire hydrants and blocking pedestrian crosswalks. However, when ticketed, the trucks would quickly be re-registered under the names of new shell companies to avoid paying the fines.

They would transfer it in a very small period of time that would not allow the Sheriff to seize the property,” said Joseph Fucito, Sheriff of the City of New York.

It’s legal to change entities, it’s not legal to evade fines, taxes and penalties like that,” said Anil Melwani, a CPA.

Authorities say the investigation isn’t over yet and that there are still a number of ice cream trucks roaming the city’s streets that will be seized in the next few days. 

Photos in video courtesy NYC Sheriff's Office.