Five executives of a strip club company were indicted Tuesday for tax fraud and bribing a tax auditor, State Attorney General Letitia James announced — charges that could draw prison stints from eight to 25 years if convicted.
RCI Hospitality Holding Inc. executives Ahmed “Ed” Anakar, 58, Bradley Chhay, 41, Shaun Kevlin, 45, Eric Langan, 57, and Timothy Winata, 71, face allegations involving 79 crimes, including conspiracy, bribery and criminal tax fraud, following a probe by the state AG’s office.
Three Manhattan strip clubs owned by the company — Rick’s Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, and Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar, all in Midtown — were also charged in the indictment. The clubs remain open for business.
“RCI, the individuals involved, and the three clubs deny the allegations and will take all necessary action to defend themselves against these overreaching charges, while continuing to seek a just resolution,” RCI’s attorney Daniel J. Horowitz said in a statement Tuesday evening.
“As a publicly traded and audited company, RCI has a policy of paying all legitimate and non-contested taxes,” Horowitz added.
The execs were accused of bribing a New York Department of Taxation and Finance auditor with lavish trips and free perks in exchange for downgrading the strip clubs’ tax bills to avoid paying more than $8 million in sales taxes to New York City and the state from 2010 to 2024.
“RCI’s executives shamelessly used their strip clubs to bribe their way out of paying millions of dollars in taxes,” the AG asserted. “I will always take action to fight corruption and ensure everyone pays their fair share.”
The strip joints operated with an in-house currency called “dance dollars” that customers would purchase and then redeem for private dances, the AG stated — in-house bucks that are alleged to be part of the tax fraud, and under which the company failed to collect and pay millions of dollars in sales taxes.
The company is accused of flying the auditor to Miami, Fla., footing the bill for at least 13 complimentary multi-day trips, as well as gifting him $5,000 per day to set him up in hotels and cover restaurant tips — and for private dances at a club it owned, Tootsie’s Cabaret.
During the probe, emails and text messages were allegedly found with back-and-forth conversations between the auditor and executives.
“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 auditor texted Winata after a February 2022 trip, the AG charged.
Also discussed in text messages were efforts to “pamper” an auditor to get a favorable settlement of a sales tax audit, the AG charged.
In April 2018, Langan, RCI’s president and CEO, texted with Ankar — RCI’s director of operations — to explain that RCI was going to be hit with $3 million in sales tax, the AG stated.
“I think I got the sales taxes in New York to 350 plus interest possibly. Tim [Winata] is discussing with the auditor tonight ;),” Langan allegedly texted Ankar.
A sixth individual was also indicted, but had not been arrested as of Tuesday.
RCI Hospitality Holdings owns up to 55 strip clubs across the U.S.
