A 13-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip charging Harendra Singh, also known as “H. Singh,” with five counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services wire fraud conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, one count of disaster relief fraud, two counts of conspiring to defraud the United States, one count of impeding the Internal Revenue Service, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of obstruction of justice.
Singh was arrested this morning and will be arraigned later today before the Hon. A. Kathleen Tomlinson, United States Magistrate Judge, at the United States Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY.
The indictment was announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York Field Office (IRS-CI).
“As alleged, Harendra Singh ran his businesses through fraud and deceit, using bribes and kickbacks to tilt the playing field in the Town of Oyster Bay. He accomplished this by lying to FEMA and the IRS in order to obtain hundreds of thousands of Hurricane Sandy disaster relief funds to which he was not entitled and evading taxes on millions of dollars of sales and wages,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “The obligation to deal honestly is shared by everyone in our society, and we and our partners in the FBI and IRS-CI are unwavering in our commitment to root out corruption at all levels.”
“The charges alleged in today’s indictment describe an outpouring of greed. As alleged, Singh put local business owners at a significant disadvantage, siphoned funds from public money he was not entitled to, and sidestepped his responsibility to pay taxes on underreported income. Today’s arrest is proof of the FBI’s continued determination to work with our partners in rooting out those who engage in unlawful schemes for profit,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.
The indictment charges that Singh paid bribes and kickbacks to a Town employee (identified in the indictment as co-conspirator #3) in exchange for the co-conspirator’s assistance in obtaining the Town’s guarantee of two loans totaling approximately $20 million that two of Singh’s businesses received from a private corporate financing company (identified in the indictment as the Lender). As a result, were Singh’s entities to default on the loans, the Town would be responsible for repaying the Lender the entire amount of the loan.
The first loan, which closed in November 2011, was for approximately $10 million, and the second loan, which closed in 2012, was for approximately $10 million. Singh’s entities were required to repay the loans, but Singh allegedly diverted millions of dollars in loan funds for his own use, leaving the Town on the hook for the remaining debt.
Singh owned and operated restaurants and food concessions located primarily in Nassau County (collectively, the Singh entities), and was awarded agreements with the Town of Oyster Bay (the Town), including concession agreements to operate various food concessions within the Town. The indictment charges that Singh paid bribes and kickbacks to a Town employee (identified in the indictment as co-conspirator #3) in exchange for the co-conspirator’s assistance in obtaining the Town’s guarantee of two loans totaling approximately $20 million that two of Singh’s businesses received from a private corporate financing company (identified in the indictment as the Lender).
The indictment also charges that Singh fraudulently under-reported to the IRS over $17 million of his businesses’ sales and wages and submitted false documents to FEMA to obtain over $900,000 in disaster relief funds. The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $2.2 million in allegedly ill-gotten gains.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara P. Nazemi and Emily A. Reinhart of the Eastern District of New York.
Defendant Name: Harendra Singh
Criminal Charges: Five counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services wire fraud conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, one count of disaster relief fraud, two counts of conspiring to defraud the United States, one count of impeding the Internal Revenue Service, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of obstruction of justice.
City and State: Central Islip, NY
Date: May 23, 2023
Sentence or Outcome: Currently arraigned and awaiting trial
Dollar Amounts: Approximately $20 million in loans, over $17 million in under-reported sales and wages, over $900,000 in disaster relief funds, and approximately $2.2 million in allegedly ill-gotten gains.
Related Federal Cases
- Perry Joyner, Bribery and Attempted Assault, New York 2020 · Washington
- Edward Mangano, Bribery, New York 2010 · Oregon
- Mahmoud Thiam, Bribery and Money Laundering, New York 2024 · Washington
- Thomas David Carruth, Bribery, Obstruction of Justice, Honest Services Wire Fraud, Arkansas 2023 · Arkansas
- Anthony Sabaini, Bribery, Tax Evasion, Structuring Financial Transactions, Theft, Illinois 2023 · Alaska
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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