A Sheepshead Bay man faces up to 20 years in prison after a federal judge on Tuesday convicted him for extorting and attacking a 19-year-old business competitor.
Mark Krivoi kidnapped and violently shook down his victim after he started a cleaning business that competed with Krivoi’s cousin’s power-washing operation, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who prosecuted the case.
“As found by the jury, Krivoi threatend and beat the young man simply for starting a competing business,” said Richard Donoghue.
Krivoi, also known as “Igor,” and his cousin conspired to kidnap the teen after he left the power-washing business to start his own outfit, threatening him by telling him he could not set up shop in the borough, and demanding a meeting to resolve the issue, according to the attorney’s office.
The two met the victim and drove him to a secluded spot in Sheepshead Bay where the cousin held him at knifepoint and warned him that Krivoi was a “soldier” in Brava, a local motorcycle gang that’s name means “brotherhood” in Russian, according to authorities.
The cousin then demanded $10,000 from the victim, and when he said he couldn’t pay up, told Krivoi “go” in Russian, and he punched the teen repeatedly, knocking him to the ground, and threatened to kill and bury him on the spot, court documents read.
The victim gave in and said he would pay $5,000, and later he contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose Organized Crime and Gang Section took on the case.
Donoghue said his office won’t tolerate this kind of criminal behavior, and thanked federal agents and prosecutors for their work.
“Using violence to intimidate a business competitor will never be tolerated in our community,” he said.
Officials have yet to set Krivoi’s sentencing date, according to the attorney’s office.
