Father and Son Charged with Stealing $1 Million in Sales Tax from State

A father and son that own and operate three gas stations in Nassau County were arrested and charged Wednesday with stealing more than $1 million in gasoline sales tax from the state.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman indictmented Kulbir Singh, 53, his son Ladpreet Singh, 24, both of Valley Stream, and gas stations Dashmesh Petroleum, Inc., Gobind Petroleum, Inc. and Karam Mart Inc. on 11 felony charges stemming from the alleged theft of more than $1 million in sales tax collected for gasoline sales. Kulbir Singh operated BP gas stations located at 2 Hempstead Avenue, West Hempstead, 385 Merrick Road, Valley Stream, and 653 Hempstead Avenue, Elmont. His son also operated Karam Mart.

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

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 million 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, Kulbir Singh faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison; his son Ladpreet Singh faces 5 to 15 years in prison.

Photo: Google Maps.