NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new Tennessee law that went into effect July 1 makes pretending to be a rideshare or taxi driver a crime in the state following an armed robbery and fraud incident on Broadway.
According to court documents, on March 30, 2025, a man left a bar on Broadway and got into a vehicle that he believed to be a rideshare vehicle or taxi. Inside the vehicle were 31-year-old Dakota Blunt and another woman, who allegedly held the victim at gunpoint, took his phone and wallet, fraudulently opened a credit card in his name, and made $18,000 worth of charges to his bank account.
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Metro police arrested 31-year-old Dakota Blunt and charged her with felony identity theft, felony property theft, felony aggravated robbery, and felony aggravated kidnapping.
However, had the crime happened after July 1, officials also could have considered charging her with rideshare impersonation. A new state law makes pretending to be a rideshare or taxi driver a Class B misdemeanor, and a Class E felony if the suspect is committing another felony at the same time.
“For me, it’s about deterrence,” Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville) told NewsNation affiliate WKRN in March.
Uber and Lyft approached her with the idea, which she combined with Rep. Dan Howell’s (R-Cleveland) bill targeting fake taxi drivers.
“Those companies and those corporations, they invest a lot of time and money to ensure that those drivers have valid driver’s licenses, carry insurance, do background checks, and all of that is done for those passengers to feel safe and secure using those services,” Davis said.
Rep. Davis told WKRN the law isn’t about locking people up. She hopes it sends a message to those considering impersonating a rideshare driver before they commit the act.
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“Hopefully, people don’t want to go to jail. That’s really the message is we’ll put you in jail for this,” Davis said. “That’s the seriousness of what we’re wanting to make sure people understand is we want to protect our communities, and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep people safe.”
Blunt is currently being held in the Davison County jail on a $235,000 bond.
