Major NYC strip club group bribed state auditor with lap dances, avoided $8M in taxes
New York state prosecutors accused strip club group RCI of bribing a state auditor. Aleksandr Rybalko – stock.adobe.com
A national strip club operator and five of its executives are facing serious criminal charges for allegedly bribing a New York state auditor with cash, luxury trips, and adult entertainment in a long-running scheme to avoid more than $8 million in sales taxes.
The New York State Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday unsealed a 79-count indictment against RCI Hospitality Holdings, which owns and operates several adult entertainment venues in Manhattan, including Rick’s Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, and Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar.
According to prosecutors, the company’s executives provided the auditor with lavish perks — including at least 13 all-expenses-paid trips to Miami featuring luxury hotel stays, fine dining, and thousands of dollars in private dances at RCI-owned clubs — in exchange for favorable audit results between 2010 and 2023.
“RCI’s executives shamelessly used their strip clubs to bribe their way out of paying millions of dollars in taxes,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “I will always take action to fight corruption and ensure everyone pays their fair share.”
Court filings claim a senior RCI accountant made at least 10 trips from Texas to New York to entertain the auditor, who has not been publicly identified, at the company’s venues. In exchange, the auditor allegedly manipulated the results of six state audits, allowing RCI to settle for significantly less than it actually owed.
Text messages obtained during the investigation reportedly show executives discussing the scheme in detail. In one message, RCI President Eric Langan allegedly warned CFO Ahmed Anakar: “We are going to be hit by 3m in sales taxes soon,” prompting discussions about “dance dollars” and negotiating bribes.
Another message from Langan in 2018 reads: “I think I got the sales taxes in New York to 350 plus interest possibly. Tim is discussing with the auditor tonight ;)”
In a later message, the auditor allegedly told an RCI accountant: “That’s the way people do business in this country.” In 2023, another executive reportedly texted: “Tim got the guy to $47k in Vivid New York. But owes him a couple trips.”
RCI and the indicted executives have denied the charges. Daniel J. Horwitz, an attorney representing the company, said in a statement: “RCI and the indicted execs deny the allegations and will take all actions to defend themselves against the overreaching charges while continuing to seek a just resolution.”
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