NRI gets 4 years in prison for $2M COVID-19 fraud
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a 27-year-old man of indian descent defrauded victims by making false promises to them as part of a USD 2 million scheme, earning him a sentence of almost four years in prison. Guaravjit "Raj" Singh of Montgomery, New Jersey, earlier entered a guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud before US district court Judge Peter Sheridan.
According to US Attorney Philip Sellinger on Thursday, the judge in Trenton federal court handed down the 46-month sentence on Wednesday. According to court testimony and documents in the case, beginning in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Singh engaged in a scheme to defraud and profit personally by tricking 10 victims into sending him more than USD 2 million so he could buy personal protective equipment (PPE), then stealing the money and failing to give the victims the PPE as promised.
In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Mr. Singh persuaded victims to sign an agreement under which he would get roughly USD 7.1 million in exchange for 1.5 million medical gowns. These gowns were ultimately to be delivered to the city of New York. The victims wired Mr. Singh USD 712,500, or a 10% down payment, for the hospital gowns. Mr. Singh assured the victims that they would obtain the medical gowns after receiving these payments from the victims through further misrepresentations and justifications.
According to US Attorney Philip Sellinger on Thursday, the judge in Trenton federal court handed down the 46-month sentence on Wednesday. According to court testimony and documents in the case, beginning in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Singh engaged in a scheme to defraud and profit personally by tricking 10 victims into sending him more than USD 2 million so he could buy personal protective equipment (PPE), then stealing the money and failing to give the victims the PPE as promised.
In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Mr. Singh persuaded victims to sign an agreement under which he would get roughly USD 7.1 million in exchange for 1.5 million medical gowns. These gowns were ultimately to be delivered to the city of New York. The victims wired Mr. Singh USD 712,500, or a 10% down payment, for the hospital gowns. Mr. Singh assured the victims that they would obtain the medical gowns after receiving these payments from the victims through further misrepresentations and justifications.