Father and son duo indicted in $1 million tax fraud

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A father and son were indicted on Sept. 28 on 11 felony charges stemming from the alleged theft of more than $1 million in sales tax collected for gasoline sales.

Kulbir Singh, 53, and his son Ladpreet Singh, 24, own and operate three BP gas stations in Nassau County: located at 2 Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead (Gobind Petroleum, Inc.), 385 Merrick Road in Valley Stream (Dashmesh Petroleum, Inc.), and 653 Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont (Karam Mart, Inc.).

According to the prosecution, the Singhs’ gas stations collected but failed to remit to New York State a total of more than $1,000,000 in sales taxes from September 2011 through December 2014.

“Failing to pay legally owed taxes puts the burden on hardworking New Yorkers who play by the rules, while also straining our state’s resources,” said New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “We will not allow companies and businesses to evade our tax laws in order to boost their bottom line.”

According to statements made by the prosecutor at arraignment, Kulbir Singh’s businesses were previously convicted of felony charges for failing to pay sales tax. 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. The corporations pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud charges and agreed to pay more than $1,000,000 in restitution, interest and penalties to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. However, the corporations ultimately paid only $500,000 of the restitution owed. It was during the investigation of the failure to pay the remaining monies that the Department of Taxation and Finance uncovered evidence that Singh allegedly continued to steal sales tax proceeds at gasoline stations he controlled, resulting in the current indictment.

If convicted, defendant Kulbir Singh could face 8-25 years in prison. Ladpreet Singh faces 5-15 years in prison.

The defendants were arraigned on Sept. 28 before Honorable Terence P. Murphy in Nassau County Supreme Court. Bail was set at $250,000 cash or $500,000 bond for defendant Kulbir Singh and at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond for defendant Ladpreet Singh.