Somerset County man sentenced to 46 months in prison for orchestrating COVID-19 fraud
MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, NJ (Somerset County) – A Somerset County man was sentenced Wednesday to 46 for orchestrating a $2 million COVID-19 fraud scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
Guaravjit “Raj” Singh, 27, of Montgomery Township previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Peter G. Sheridan to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced by Judge Sheridan on Wednesday in Trenton federal court, Sellinger said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from May 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh engaged in a scheme to defraud and to enrich himself by fraudulently inducing 10 victims to send him over $2 million to obtain personal protective equipment (PPE) and then stealing the money and not providing the PPE to the victims as promised.
Singh induced victims to enter into an agreement pursuant to which Singh would be paid approximately $7.1 million for approximately 1.5 million medical gowns, which ultimately were to be sourced to the city of New York amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The victims wired Singh, though his company GJS Solutions LLC, $712,500, representing a 10 percent initial deposit for the medical gowns. After receiving these funds from the victims, Singh made additional misrepresentations and excuses to the victims, ensuring them that they would receive the medical gowns. Instead of purchasing and delivering medical gowns, Singh used the funds for personal expenses.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Singh to three years of supervised release, Sellinger said.