The adult entertainment company that owns some of the country’s most prominent strip clubs, including five in Colorado, has been charged with bribing a New York government official with free nightclub trips and private dances to avoid paying $8 million in sales taxes. The money was owed to New York City and the state of New York, according to a 79-page indictment unsealed Tuesday. 

The indictment charges RCI Hospitality Holdings, five of its executives, and three RCI-owned strip clubs in Manhattan with 79 crimes including conspiracy, bribery, and criminal tax fraud. 

It alleges that a state auditor, who is unnamed in the indictment, had a cozy 14-year relationship with RCI executives in which he exchanged elaborate strip club outings for financial favors. The auditor, the court document revealed, received at least 13 complimentary multi-day trips to Florida, where he was given up to $5,000 per day for private dances in clubs there.  

RCI is based out of Houston, Texas, and claims to be “the country’s leading company in gentlemen’s clubs and sports bars.” Of those, it owns five strip clubs in Colorado including Diamond Cabaret in downtown Denver, Scarlett’s and PT’s in other parts of the city and controversial venue Rick’s Cabaret, which opened this summer in Central City. 

In a text to The Denver Gazette Tuesday night, CEO Eric Langan wrote that the indictment will not affect his Colorado clubs and said, “We have no intention of closing or selling any of our businesses.” 

Bribing scheme

The New York indictment alleges that RCI executives received favorable treatment during at least six tax audits that were performed over a decade in exchange for the perks. 

“RCI’s executives shamelessly used their strip clubs to bribe their way out of paying millions of dollars in taxes,” said New York Attorney General Leticia James. “I will always take action to fight corruption and ensure everyone pays their fair share.”

However, RCI attorney Daniel Horwitz denied the allegations and said that the company’s policy is to pay its taxes. In a statement, Horwitz said the company will fight the charges.

“We are clearly disappointed with the New York Attorney General’s decision to move forward with an indictment and look forward to addressing the allegations,” Horwitz said in a statement. “We remind everybody that these indictments contain only allegations, which we believe are baseless. RCI and the individuals involved are presumed innocent and should be allowed to have their day in court.”

The Sept. 16 indictment did not spare the juicy details, revealing that in a February 2022 text to one of RCI’s top level executives, the New York auditor gushed: “This was the best trip I had in Florida. The girls were very beautiful and nice … I hope we can have another trip before the summer.” 

The multi-million dollar bribing scheme, which the document contends lasted from 2010 until 2024, accused RCI President and CEO Eric Langan of being the mastermind behind the negotiations. 

James’ investigators found that in April 2018, Langan texted his director of operations that “We need to talk about New York and Dance Dollars” explaining that RCI was “going to be hit by 3M in sales taxes soon.” Later that same day in a follow-up text, the indictment reported that Langan wrote, “I think I got the sales taxes in New York to 350 plus interest possibly. Tim (RCI Auditor Tim Winata) is discussing with the auditor tonight.” 

Dance dollars are bought by customers and then redeemed for private dances. 

Colorado connection

The company has had problems locally as well, both in Denver and in Central City.

Earlier this year, the Denver Labor Division of the auditor’s office announced its investigation into wage theft involving Diamond Cabaret and Rick’s Cabaret. In February, government officials ordered the company to pay $14 million in back wages and penalties to their workers. RCI sued and that case, which was opened in 2023 and 2024, is tied up in the courts. 

In that situation, city investigators found that more than 230 entertainers, bartenders, servers and other workers at both establishments had money stolen from them. Both businesses also used questionable workplace practices in that they misclassified entertainers — strippers or dancers — as exempt from some worker laws. The misclassification meant the strip clubs were not paying entertainers appropriately for their work, and treating them as contractors.

Denver labor officials contended that restaurants, and especially strip clubs, are at high risk for wage and hour violations and that workers at the two adult entertainment venues “underpaid every tipped employee by $3.02 per hour for every hour worked for more than two years.” 

Central City saga

Langan sparred with the small historic gambling town of Central City for nearly three years before he finally opened a Rick’s Cabaret and Steak Club on Main Street this summer. 

The historic mining town, once called “The Richest Square Mile On Earth” during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, has laws which prevent adult entertainment from operating within 1,000 feet of gathering places like a church or the Elks Club, but Langan countered that he is not in violation of the town’s sexually oriented businesses ordinances because his dancers are opaquely covered.

“It works so well, people think they’re nude,” he said previously.

Strippers have been entertaining in the space wearing latex, which Langan contends is technically not nude dancing but looks just like it. The club is open on a Thursday through Sunday schedule. In a Facebook post put up late Tuesday night, the club was in full marketing mode, boasting world class adult performers and “rock star living where gambling meets glamour.” 

However, last month, the Central City Council voted to hire an outside attorney to investigate whether Rick’s Cabaret is operating contrary to the city’s current zoning regulations – translation, are they dancing topless or are they using the legally required latex covering?

RCI Hospitality Holdings bought the five-storefront property at 130 Main St. for $2.4 million in December 2022. Langan wanted to include gambling at the venue, but withdrew its gambling license application with the Colorado Gaming Commission in May 2024 because he contended that the process was taking too long.

Central City Mayor Jeremy Fey had no comment on the matter and the Denver Labor Division of the Auditor’s Office did not respond with a request for an update by publication time on what Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien dubbed “an extraordinary case … unlike any the office has conducted due to the exorbitant amount of wages stolen.” 

The individuals charged in the New York Attorney General indictment are:

• Ahmed “Ed” Anakar, 58, of Plantation, Florida
• Bradley Chhay, 41, of Conroe, Texas
• Shaun Kevlin, 45, of Warwick, New York
• Eric Langan, 57, of Bellaire, Texas
• Timothy Winata, 71, of Houston, Texas.

Langan, Winata and Anakar could face a maximum sentence of eight-to-25 years in prison if they’re convicted of criminal tax fraud. Chhay and Kevlin could face up to 15 years for the bribery charge.