I saw the story yesterday and I'm having a real hard time believing it. In fact, I'd bet $8000 that it was BS.
1) I dont believe that a taxi driver with balls that big exists
2) I dont believe a tourist that is that dumb exists
I can believe $1000-$2000 (A few hundred USD) because that is not uncommon for a airport to home taxi rides in big cities around the world. I cannnot fathom how someone would be happy to fork over $1000USD for a taxi ride without questioning it.
This one smells and I trust my nose more than the story.