Men charged in $40M rideshare app surge fee scam: EDNY

NEW YORK, N.Y. (PIX11) — Two men are facing multiple charges after allegedly scamming rideshare users and drivers out of more than $40 million dollars over the course of five years.

Eliahou Paldiel and Carlos Arturo Suarez Palacios are accused of selling hacked phones with fake rideside and GPS apps, according to court documents. Those apps charged riders fraudulent surge fees and allowed conspiring drivers to unfairly “cherry pick” high-fare rides, attorneys say.

Between Nov. 2018 and Aug. 2024 Paldiel and Suarez allegedly sold jailbroken phones to co-conspiring drivers that were loaded up with the apps “Fake GPS” and “Screwber,” as well as older versions of the rideshare app that wouldn’t detect the use of the illegal ones.

The “Fake GPS” app allowed drivers to manipulate their locations and make it look like they were in areas with surge pricing, even if they weren’t. Meanwhile, the “Screwber” app gave drivers information on the destinations and estimated fares of prospective rideshare users, allowing them to choose the most profitable rides.

Paldiel and Suarez pleaded not guilty to their charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies and were released on $210,000 bail. If convicted they could each face up to 40 years in prison.

Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the FBI at NY_RideShareTips@fbi.gov.

Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here .

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