In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, a 27-year-old Indian-origin man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for orchestrating a USD2 million scheme that defrauded victims by making false promises. Guaravjit ‘Raj’ Singh of Montgomery, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before US District Court Judge Peter Sheridan. According to US Attorney Philip Sellinger, Sheridan imposed the 46-month sentence on Wednesday in Trenton federal court.
According to court documents and statements, Singh engaged in a scheme to defraud and personally benefit from May 2020, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, by fraudulently inducing 10 victims to send him over USD2 million to obtain personal protective equipment (PPE), then stealing the money and failing to provide the PPE to the victims as promised.
Singh persuaded victims to enter into an agreement in which he would be paid approximately USD7.1 million for approximately 1.5 million medical gowns, which were eventually to be sourced to the city of New York during the covid-19 pandemic. The victims wired Singh USD712,500 as a 10% initial deposit for the medical gowns.
Singh made additional misrepresentations and excuses to the victims after receiving these funds from them, assuring them that they would receive the medical gowns. Singh used the funds for personal expenses rather than purchasing and delivering medical gowns. Judge Sheridan also sentenced Singh to three years of supervised release in addition to the prison term.
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