AG Schneiderman: Nassau gas station owner pleads guilty for failing to pay state taxes

Kulbir Singh, 53, owner of three gas stations in Nassau County, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three counts of third degree grand larceny upon his failure to report about $1 million in state sales tax, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has announced.  

According to officials, Singh was ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution and sign a confession of judgement for the remaining $850,000 that was stolen from the State. For these three class D felonies, he would face up to 4 years in jail, which will be determined at a future date.

Singh operated three BP gas stations in Nassau County: Gobind Petroleum, Inc., Hempstead Avenue, West Hempstead, Dashmesh Petroleum, Inc., Merrick Road, Valley Stream, and Karam Mart, Hempstead Avenue, in Elmont. His son, Ladpreet Singh, also operated Karam Mart. 

According to the prosecution, the Singhs' gas stations collected but failed to pay New York State over $1 million in sales taxes from September 2011 through December 2014.

"Our investigation uncovered a deliberate scheme by Kulbir Singh to cheat New York State out of vital tax revenue," said Attorney General Schneiderman. "Stealing from taxpayers undercuts the funding of important programs that support all New Yorkers, and those who think they can get away with this type of fraud should think again.

"This was a case of blatant theft from New York State and its taxpayers," said Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion. "Despite a previous felony conviction for the same crime, the defendant continued to steal money that should have been used to fund vital public services. We will continue to work with all levels of law enforcement, including the Attorney General's Office, to ensure that these crimes don't go unpunished."

Each of the defendant corporations, Dashmesh Petroleum, Inc., Gobind Petroleum Inc. and Karam Mart, Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, and were fined $50,000 each, officials said. Ladpreet Singh, who operated Karam Mart, Inc., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation.

The pleas were entered Tuesday in Nassau County Supreme Court, in front of Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence P. Murphy. 

This wasn't the first time Kulbir Singh and his businesses were convicted of failing to pay state taxes, authorities said. According to statements made by the prosecutor, in October 2012, in Queens County Supreme Court, Kulbir Singh admitted to controlling four gasoline stations that had stolen more than $500,000 in sales taxes. At that time, the corporations pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud charges and agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution, interest and penalties to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, authorities said. However, they only paid $500,000 of the restitution owed, officials said. 

Authorities said it was during the investigation of the failure to pay the remaining owed state taxes that the Department of Taxation and Finance found that Singh allegedly continued to steal at gasoline stations he controlled, which resulted in the current indictment.