The owner of a cab company who was convicted of lying to insurers about where he kept his vehicles in order to get lower rates may have fled to Morocco prior to his sentencing, authorities said. The owner of a cab company who was convicted of lying to insurers about where he kept his vehicles in order to get lower rates may have fled the country prior to his sentencing, authorities said.
It's believed that Moustapha Lo, 47, of Brooklyn, N.Y., may have absconded to Morocco, said state Attorney General spokesman Paul Loriquet.
Lo was convicted in June of insurance fraud, theft by deception and theft by failure to make required deposition of property received but he was due to be sentenced in August. He was facing up to 40 years in prison on these charges.
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Lo owned Newton-based Safe & Fare Transportation Inc., which also operated under the name of Futa Transportation and the same address, and another Newton taxi company, Allo Taxi, LLC. Lo told his insurance company his companies' vehicles were kept in Newton when they were actually garaged and operated in Brooklyn, where his insurance rates would have been higher.
Lo also fraudulently obtained cash intended for insurance premiums from customers.
After he was convicted, the Attorney General's Office had requested that Lo be remanded to custody after the trial, but Judge Thomas Critchley instead let him go free on bail.
Critchley told New Jersey Herald it was "foolish" of him not to revoke Lo's bail and remand him following the conviction. The judge also told the newspaper Lo could have "feigned leaving the country" because of his local ties.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
