Uber Driver Sentenced To Prison For Kidnapping Female Passenger
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An Uber driver has been sentenced to prison for kidnapping a female passenger.
Twenty-five-year-old Harbir Parmar, of Howard Beach, was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
On Feb. 21, 2018, Parmar, who was working as an Uber driver, picked up a female passenger who wanted to be driven from New York City to White Plains, New York.
While Parmar was driving, the passenger fell asleep in the backseat. Parmar then changed her destination to an address in Boston, Massachusetts. When the woman woke up, they were in Connecticut.
She asked to be taken to White Plains or the nearest police station, but Parmar instead left her on the side of an interstate in Branford, Connecticut. The victim went to a nearby convenience store for help.
"Many people rely on rideshare apps to navigate New York safely. But when a woman hailed a ridesharing car driven by Harbir Parmar, her ride home took a turn for the worst. With Parmar's lengthy prison term, he will no longer be able to take advantage of ridesharing customers," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a release.
Parmar also pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. Authorities say for more than a year, Parmar would send Uber false information about his customers' destinations and false cleaning fees. As part of his sentence, he has been ordered to pay $3,642 in restitution and forfeiture.