Attorney General James Indicts Strip Club Company Executives for Multimillion Dollar Tax Fraud Scheme and Bribery of State Tax Auditor

 

RCI Executives Bribed New York Tax Auditor with Free Trips to Strip Clubs, Hotels, and Restaurants to Avoid Paying Over $8 Million in Taxes 

Five RCI Leaders Charged with 79 Crimes, Including Conspiracy, Bribery, and Criminal Tax Fraud

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the indictments of top executives of RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (RCI), a company that owns and operates strip clubs throughout the country, for their roles in a major, multimillion dollar criminal tax fraud and bribery scheme. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) revealed that RCI executives bribed an auditor with the New York Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) to avoid paying over $8 million in sales taxes to New York City and the state from 2010 to 2024. A 79-count indictment unsealed today charges RCI, five of its executives, and three RCI-owned strip clubs in Manhattan with conspiracy, bribery, and criminal tax fraud, among other crimes.

“RCI’s executives shamelessly used their strip clubs to bribe their way out of paying millions of dollars in taxes,” said Attorney General James. “I will always take action to fight corruption and ensure everyone pays their fair share.”

“Tax Department Internal Affairs investigators worked closely with the Attorney General’s Office throughout the investigation of this case,” said Amanda Hiller, Acting Commissioner and General Counsel of the State Department of Taxation and Finance. “We commend the Attorney General and her staff for their work and look forward to its resolution in court.”

The OAG’s investigation revealed that RCI and its top executives bribed a former DTF auditor and supervisor, in exchange for favorable treatment during at least six different sales tax audits spanning over a decade. The auditor received at least 13 complimentary multi-day trips to Florida where he was given up to $5,000 per day for private dances at RCI-owned strip clubs, including Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami. RCI executives paid for the auditor’s hotels and restaurant visits during these trips as well. Additionally, on at least 10 occasions since 2010, Timothy Winata, RCI’s controller and accountant, traveled to Manhattan from Texas to provide the auditor with illegal bribes at RCI’s three Manhattan clubs, Rick’s Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, and Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar.

Winata was responsible for directly providing the bribes to the auditor and accompanied him on trips to RCI clubs. After one such trip in February 2022, the auditor texted Winata, “This was the best trip I had in Florida. The girls were very beautiful and nice…I hope we can have another trip before the summer.”

The trips and bribes were authorized, directed, and overseen by Eric Langan, RCI’s president and Chief Executive Officer, Bradley Chhay, RCI’s Chief Financial Officer, Ahmed Anakar, RCI’s Director of Operations, and Shaun Kevlin, a Regional Manager for RCI’s New York City strip clubs and later RCI’s Assistant Director of Nightclub Operations. The defendants also falsified the business records of RCI strip clubs to conceal their crimes and recorded the cash payments used to bribe the auditor as “promotional” expenses for the clubs.

RCI clubs use an in-house currency called “Dance Dollars” that customers purchase and redeem for private dances. As part of its tax fraud scheme, RCI failed to collect and pay over $8 million in sales taxes on the sale of Dance Dollars. In exchange for the illegal bribes provided to him, the auditor agreed to settle pending and future DTF sales tax audits of RCI’s Manhattan strip clubs for substantially less in back taxes, penalties, and interest than were owed, saving RCI millions of dollars. 

In emails and text messages, the defendants openly discussed using trips to RCI clubs to help secure more favorable treatment from the auditor. For example, in June 2023, Chhay texted Langan and Anakar to boast that one of their clubs, Vivid Cabaret, would pay just $47,000 as the result of an audit. “Tim [Winata] got the guy to $47k in Vivid New York. But owes him a couple trips,” he wrote. In another instance, Winata explained that RCI “may need to pamper [the auditor] more this time” to obtain a favorable settlement of a sales tax audit. 

Langan, RCI’s President and CEO, allegedly personally supervised RCI’s negotiations with the auditor and approved the payment of bribes to him. For example, on April 12, 2018, while Winata was in Manhattan to meet with the auditor at Rick’s Cabaret and other locations, Langan texted Anakar: “We need to talk about New York and Dance Dollars,” explaining that RCI was “going to be hit by 3M in sales taxes soon.” Later that same day, Langan texted Anakar: “I think I got the sales taxes in New York to 350 plus interest possibly. Tim [Winata] is discussing with the auditor tonight ;).”

That same day, Langan personally authorized the payment of a bribe to the auditor in New York and the falsification of RCI’s business records to conceal it. Kevlin texted Langan that “Tim guest would like another $1500” to spend at an RCI-owned strip club in Manhattan and explained that they “did $2k yesterday.” Kevlin stated that the money would be recorded in the club’s records as a “promo” expense. Langan responded: “That’s fine. Go ahead.” As Kevlin discussed with Langan, he and Anakar later created a false receipt and sales report that listed the $1,500 used to bribe the auditor as an expense for a strip club “promotion.”

The individuals charged in the indictment are:

• Ahmed “Ed” Anakar, 58, of Plantation, Florida;
• Bradley Chhay, 41, of Conroe, Texas;
• Shaun Kevlin, 45, of Warwick, New York;
• Eric Langan, 57, of Bellaire, Texas; and
• Timothy Winata, 71, of Houston, Texas.

A sixth individual has also been indicted but not yet arrested and will be arraigned at a later date. The indictment will remain sealed as to that defendant until they are arraigned.   

The corporations charged are RCI and its three Manhattan-based subsidiaries: Rick’s Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, and Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar.

If convicted on the top count of Criminal Tax Fraud in the First Degree, Langan, Winata, and Anakar face a maximum sentence of eight and one third to 25 years in prison. If convicted on the top count of Bribery in the Second Degree that they are charged with, Chhay and Kevlin face a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

The OAG would like to thank DTF and Acting Commissioner Amanda Hiller; Brian M. Hickey, Director of DTF’s Office of Internal Affairs; Scott Gullie, Assistant Director of DTF’s Office of Internal Affairs; Investigator Richard Gambino; Chunyip Tsui, Section Head in the Criminal Investigations Division; Harry Marc-Charles, Forensic Auditor II; and Christine Stevens, Executive Attorney in the Criminal Investigations Division for their outstanding assistance with this investigation.

Governor Hochul Makes a Public Health Announcement

Governor Hochul: “Here in the State of New York, we actually believe in science. We believe in preventative measures like shots, and we will not bow down to what the federal government is trying to impose on us.”

Hochul: “This is the perfect time of the year to go get your COVID shot without interruption — and we're going to continue under this executive order. I plan to renew it again on October 5th. I have to keep renewing it monthly until such time as we can take action with the legislature. I'll be drafting legislation in the upcoming weeks on that.”

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul received her COVID vaccination and provided remarks to New Yorkers on the importance of vaccinations. 

Now I do want to say a few words while I am here because I wanted to put a spotlight on the fact that back in August the federal government, Secretary Kennedy and the FDA, took away the rights of pharmacists to provide lifesaving vaccinations like COVID shots to anyone under the age of 65, or who didn't have preexisting conditions. So basically saying that if you don't have a prescription — parents can't get shots for their children; that adults who want to protect themselves had that right taken away. That's why I signed an executive order a short time ago on September 5th basically saying that, “no here in the State of New York, we actually believe in science. We believe in preventative measures like shots, and we will not bow down to what the federal government is trying to impose on us.”

We're also very aware that later this week we're in a two day period starting Thursday. The COVID committee assembled by Secretary Kennedy, and he eliminated the ones that were perhaps unbiased and stacked with his own appointees. That meeting is occurring later this week, so I wanted to come here today and say that we are expecting more chaos out of the federal government. This is how they operate. Whether they're going to take away more rights remains to be seen, but based on what they did in August, I have no high expectations that they're going to reverse the position — where all across this country, we have states where without a prescription and the hassle involved and having to take time off of work, go see a doctor, get a diagnosis and go to back to the pharmacy, ignoring the fact that people have real lives to live and just want to get that shot as quickly as they did before this decision in August that there are other states that are exposed. I feel for them, but here in the state of New York, my job is to protect all New Yorkers, and that's exactly what we're doing. And I want to remind everybody this is the perfect time of the year to go get your COVID shot without interruption — and we're going to continue under this executive order. I plan to renew it again on October 5th. I have to keep renewing it monthly until such time as we can take action with the legislature. I'll be drafting legislation in the upcoming weeks on that. 

RETURN OF THE TRASH REVOLUTION: FOLLOWING MAJOR SUCCESS IN MANHATTAN, MAYOR ADAMS, ACTING DSNY COMMISSIONER LOJAN ANNOUNCE BROOKLYN COMMUNITY DISTRICT 2 AS NEXT TO BE FULLY CONTAINERIZED

 

Pilot Program Will Kick Off with Installation of Empire Bins at Fort Greene and Clinton Hill Schools This Year 

 

Residential Waste in Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Brooklyn Navy Yard Will Be Containerized Using Empire Bins in 2026 

 

Rat Sightings Continue Historic Decline with Nine Straight Months of Reductions 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Acting Commissioner Javier Lojan today announced that Brooklyn Community District 2 will be the second neighborhood in the city to have all its trash fully containerized in the Adams administration’s revolutionary Empire Bins, building on the incredible success of the containerization of all trash in West Harlem. DSNY will install stationary, on-street containers — known as Empire Bins — at schools in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill this fall and extend the popular program to all schools and high-density residential buildings in the community district next year. The milestone announcement comes as rats continue to flee New York City: in each of the nine months since low-density residential containerization requirements went into effect last year, rat sightings reported to 311 have declined when compared to the same month the previous year.  

 

“Our ‘Trash Revolution’ is delivering cleaner streets, a better quality of life, and nine straight months of fewer rat sightings. The rats are losing — and Brooklyn is next,” said Mayor Adams. “As the rats crash out, we are ramping up. Today, we are proud to launch the next phase of the ‘Trash Revolution’: the Battle of Brooklyn. Following the success of Community Board 9 in West Harlem, our administration is bringing Empire Bins to Fort Greene and Clinton Hill this fall and expanding citywide in 2026. Every day, we are making our city cleaner, safer, and a better place to raise a family, unless you’re a rat.” 

 

“Bin by bin, we are proving the naysayers wrong and showing the world that New York City can have clean streets and sidewalks, just like cities around the world have done for decades,” said DSNY Acting Commissioner Lojan. “I have seen a lot of innovation in my 26 years with the Sanitation Department, but containerizing trash using on-street containers is by far the most significant. I am thrilled to be bringing this pilot to a second borough, and I look forward to ongoing evaluation and continued expansion.” 

 

The expansion announced today covers schools and higher-density buildings in Brooklyn Community Board 2. DSNY will assign Empire Bins to schools and all buildings with more than 30 units, and Empire Bins will be accessible to property managers with a key card. Buildings with 10 to 30 units will be given an option — after extensive one-to-one outreach — to either have an Empire Bin assigned to them or use smaller “wheelie bins” as all properties with one to nine units are already required to do citywide.  

 

The initial West Harlem pilot utilized roughly 1,100 Empire Bins to store trash from schools and high- and some mid-density residential buildings. The Empire Bins are serviced by North America’s first automated side-loading truck, which DSNY was able to have built years ahead of schedule by developers from Torino, Italy, and Hicksville and Brooklyn, New York. These trucks — which only take two sanitation workers to operate — have been running on the streets of West Harlem since April. 

 

Today’s announcement is another step forward in Mayor Adams’ Trash Revolution — the citywide effort to move trash from black bags on the sidewalk to rat-resistant, closed containers:  

 

•    In October 2022, the Adams administration kicked off the Trash Revolution by announcing a change to set-out times for both residential and commercial waste from 4:00 PM — one of the earliest set-out times in the country — to 8:00 PM beginning in April 2023, while also allowing earlier set-out if the material is in a container. This incentivization of containerization was paired with major changes to DSNY operations, picking up well over a quarter of all trash at 12:00 AM rather than 6:00 AM, particularly in high density parts of the city, and ending a practice by which up to one-fifth of trash had been purposefully left out for a full day.   

•    In April 2023, DSNY published the “Future of Trash” report, the first meaningful attempt to study containerization models in New York City, and the playbook to get it done.   

•    In August 2023, containerization requirements went into effect for all food-related businesses in New York City. These businesses — restaurants, delis, bodegas, bars, grocery stores, caterers, and more — produce an outsized amount of the type of trash that attracts rats.   

•    That same month, installation of the initial 10-block, 14-school, Manhattan Community Board 9 pilot containers began.  

•    In September 2023, commercial containerization requirements extended to chain businesses of any type with five or more locations in New York City. These chain businesses tend to produce a large total volume of trash.  

•    In February 2024, Mayor Adams unveiled a new, automated, side-loading garbage truck and a new data-driven containerization strategy, affirming a commitment from Mayor Adams’ 2024 State of the City address to set New York City on the course to store all trash put out for pickup in containers. This truck was unveiled four years earlier than industry experts thought possible.  

•    In March 2024, container requirements went into effect for all businesses — of every type — in New York City to get their trash off the streets and into secure bins.   

•    In November 2024, container requirements went into effect for low-density residential buildings — those with one to nine units — containerizing approximately 70 percent of all trash in the city.   

•    In May 2025, Mayor Adams committed over $32 million in permanent funding for DSNY to keep New York City clean as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget, better known as the “Best Budget Ever.” This decision permanently allocates resources to key aspects of Mayor Adams’ cleanliness agenda, establishing permanent high levels of funding to protect the cleanliness and quality of life of city neighborhoods for generations to come.  

•    In June 2025, Mayor Adams announced that — following the installation of approximately 1,100 on-street containers for residential trash from the largest buildings — 100 percent of trash in Manhattan Community Board 9 is now covered by containerization requirements. 

BOROUGH PRESIDENT GIBSON HOSTED ANNUAL AFRICAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL AT CROTONA PARK

 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson hosted the annual African Heritage Festival on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at Crotona Park. This year's theme, "Thriving Together: Immigration, Resilience & Success in 2025," highlighted the invaluable contributions of African immigrants to the Bronx and celebrated their cultural, social, and economic impact.

 

The day-long celebrations brought together families, community partners, and Bronx residents for music, cultural performances, food, and community resource tables. Attendees also heard from elected officials and community leaders, and members of the Bronx African Advisory Council.

 

"Our African Heritage Festival is an opportunity for Bronx residents and families to come together to celebrate the incredible contributions of African culture in our borough," said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. "I am grateful to our African Advisory Council for hosting this event with our office and for their 15 years of service uplifting our communities. Together, we are ensuring that the voices and traditions of African immigrants continue to thrive in the Bronx."

 

"The 15th anniversary of the African Advisory Council (AAC) of the Bronx Borough President's office was held in conjunction with the African Heritage event this year. The event honored our rich heritage and reinforced our commitment to fostering greater togetherness among our communities. Our goal remains clear: to unite more people through shared culture," said Sidiki Donzo, Chair of the Bronx Borough African Advisory Council. "We are deeply grateful for every resource and support that contributed to the event's success. Thanks to this collective effort, the AAC is stronger now than ever before and is poised to continue growing in influence and impact."

The African Heritage Festival is a prominent cultural event that provides residents with a chance to celebrate African heritage, strengthen community ties, and highlight resilience and achievement. This event emphasizes the Borough President's dedication to supporting and uplifting the diverse communities throughout the borough.