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Gauravjit Singh promoted himself as a purveyor of PPE in May 2020, then claimed he had contacts at a factory in Nanjung, China, that manufactured medical gowns, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
Singh convinced his clients, to enter into an agreement with one of his businesses, Mask Medical LLC, pursuant to which Singh would be paid approximately $7.125 million in exchange for 1.5 million medical gowns, Honig said.
The problem? Those gowns ultimately were destined to the City of New York, Honig said.
Sing's clients wired approximately $712,500 to him though GJS Solutions LLC, one of his other companies, authorities said. Singh used those funds to make additional misrepresentations, ensuring the clients that they would receive the medical gowns, Honig said.
Instead of buying and delivering medical gowns, though, Singh used the money for personal expenses, including transferring funds to his brokerage account and using the funds for online gaming and other personal expenditures, Honig said.
The count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, Honig explained.
Singh is charged with one count of wire fraud. He was scheduled to appear by video conference Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III.
Honig credits the work of special agents of the FBI under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark.
Additional victims associated with Singh’s conduct are encouraged to reach out to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or visit www.fbi.gov.
Individuals with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF web complaint form.
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