Crime & Safety
LI Man Indicted For Embezzling Millions From Pediatrics Practice
Authorities say he stole more than $3 million by inflating his own salary and paying his wife and step daughter, too.
A man from Selden was indicted on Monday on charges of embezzling more than $3 million from a Nassau County pediatrics firm where he worked.
Peter Singh, 42, was indicted on charges of first-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and eight counts of first-degree falsifying business records. He is due back in court on July 16. If convicted of the top charges, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
“This defendant abused the trust placed in him by the pediatricians he worked for and stole more than $3 million by inflating his salary and making bogus payments to his wife and others,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “As technology increasingly automates business functions, fraud and abuse obscured by human deception remains difficult to detect.”
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According to Singas, in 2010, Singh was promoted to practice administrator of Five Towns Pediatrics, PC, which has offices in Woodmere and Bellmore. As part of his job, he was given unsupervised control over the practice's payroll, 401k administration and hiring of support staff.
Between his promotion in 2010 and January 2018, Singas said that Singh allegedly increased his salary by $1,126,800; paid his wife, who was never an employee, $1,726,791; paid his step daughter, who was also never an employee, $136,053; and paid another company, RSS of NY, which Singh was a signatory on, $29,602.
Find out what's happening in Five Townsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
During the same time, Singas said that Singh used the company's bank account to pay for a high-end Lexus, repay loans from his 401k, totaling $83,517. In total, Singas said the medical practice lost $3,102,764.
In January 2018, after noticing discrepancies in their finances, the practice owners hired a forensic accountant and bookkeeper, who found the alleged embezzlement, despite investigations by the practice's previous accountants. They referred the case to the Nassau County Police Department. Singh was arrested on May 15, and he was fired in February.
Photo courtesy Nassau County District Attorney's Office
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