The CEO of a multimillion-dollar biotechnology company has sued Uber after being assaulted by an illegal alien driver.
After dining with his girlfriend (and licensed service dog) at a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 24, TC BioPharm CEO Bryan Kobel called an Uber, according to The Post and Courier.
But when the Uber arrived, driver Vadim Nikolaevich Uliumdzhiev reportedly refused to let Kobel enter his vehicle with his service dog on the grounds that he was allergic, the biotech CEO later told Fox News.
Kobel then asked to cancel the ride, prompting Uliumdzhiev to rush out of his Audi SUV and assault the CEO with a headbutt & punch to the face:
Charleston County, SC: @Uber sued after illegal alien driver knocks out customer. pic.twitter.com/e9mljZlUZn
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) August 21, 2025
The attack spurred a few witnesses to call 911.
“He’s bleeding very badly in the back of the head,” one male witness told the 911 operator. “We’re going to need an ambulance. Send the police. … There’s a gazillion witnesses.”
“I can’t even look, oh my God,” a female witness told another 911 operator. “The suspect has driven off.”
Kobel was transported to a nearby hospital with a severe concussion and reportedly received seven staples for a head laceration.
What did Uliumdzhiev do in the meantime? Pick up another passenger.
“This man violently assaults me, leaves me effectively bleeding out from my head in a parking lot, speeds off and picks somebody up two minutes later,” Kobel told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Uber decided to punish HIM, not Uliumdzhiev.
“When I left the hospital, my account had been suspended, and within 48 hours, it had been deactivated,” the biotech CEO explained. “Despite me sharing hospital records, police records, the detective’s name and phone number and images of the assault, Uber chose to effectively victim-blame me and vilify me.”
This isn’t the first instance of an Uber driver committing an assault. According to The Post and Courier, Uber “is facing nearly a dozen pending lawsuits” in Charleston County alone.
REPORT: Immigrant Ferhat Ozdemircan, 30, was released by Edmonton police after he disguised himself as an Uber driver so he could sexually assault an Edmonton woman. pic.twitter.com/RRdqQoOe1m
— Wiretap Media (@WiretapMediaCa) August 18, 2025
Uber driver arrested for kidnapping and assault of woman now on immigration detainer. https://t.co/LkYoxPtSVC pic.twitter.com/JYjcPToEEp
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) August 8, 2025
Kobel later discovered that Uliumdzhiev had a fake driver’s license and was a Russian national who was illegally residing in the U.S.
“Riders rely on Uber to know who is behind the wheel,” Kobel’s attorney, Kenneth Berger, told Fox News in a statement.
“We’re seeking answers and accountability for how an undocumented individual using a fraudulent ID was able to access Uber’s platform, assault a passenger and flee. Publicly traded companies that profit from public trust must have screening and real-time identity systems that actually protect people,” he added.
The suit filed by Kobel and his lawyer on Aug. 18 alleges that, because of the assault, he suffered immensely.
“It was about 60 days before I could really have some semblance of a normal life,” he told Fox News. “I had to bring our employees into a Zoom call and inform them of what had happened. I couldn’t look at screens. I couldn’t really focus my eyes.”
“I had a complete loss of vocabulary. You wonder, will I ever be whole again Am I ever going to be the person I was? It’s made me more jaded, for sure,” he added.
The suit also accuses Uber of being negligent with its screening, hiring, and monitoring of drivers.
“Uber let a wolf into the henhouse,” Kobel said. “They allowed a man who was in a country illegally, a Russian national with a fake license, go through their background check and snake his way in and then have what was nothing more than a violent outburst for no reason.”
As for Uliumdzhiev, he was finally arrested on May 8 on charges of second-degree assault and battery. While he was in jail, immigration authorities reportedly placed a hold on him.
“After Uliumdzhiev posted a $10,000 bond he was transferred to a federal ICE processing center in Folkston, Ga.,” according to the Courier.
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Author: Vivek Saxena
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