New York City street food vendors speak out about permit scammer targeting them

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- An alleged scammer has been accused of offering food vendors access to a city permit, then vanishing with their money -- amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen.

The predatory scheme takes advantage of a decades-old grey market.

Here's how the racket is said to work: new food vendors, often vulnerable immigrants desperate for a way to sell their wares legally, are approached by a man offering to lease them one of the scarce and highly sought-after city permits that would help them authenticate their small business. Then, after they fork over the cash, he vanishes.

Eyewitness News spoke with two vendors who said they were targeted, as well as Street Vendor Project, an organization promoting fair working conditions for street vendors.

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