Florida trucking company owner accused in $100M Ponzi scheme

A Florida man faces multiple federal charges for allegedly operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme through his over-the-road trucking company, Royal Bengal Logistics Inc.

Sanjay Singh, 43, of Coral Springs, Florida, is accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and engaging in transactions in unlawful proceeds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Federal prosecutors allege Singh, founder and president of Royal Bengal Logistics (RBL), organized the Ponzi scheme with others, who were not named by the DOJ.  

According to the DOJ, beginning in 2020, “Singh and his co-conspirators held RBL out to potential investors as a thriving and successful trucking business, all while RBL’s actual trucking business lost money. In the process, Singh and his co-conspirators made material misrepresentations and material omissions about the riskiness of investing in RBL, the profitability of RBL’s trucking operations, how RBL would pay its investors, and how RBL would use investor funds.” 

Through these misrepresentations and omissions, a DOJ news release states, Singh and his co-conspirators raised over $100 million from investors, which they then used in part to pay existing investors promised returns. The DOJ says the scheme was ongoing all the way up to his arrest this week. 

RBL has 166 power units and 91 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.

Singh was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 14. He was arrested this week by U.S. Marshals and released on a $1 million bond. Under the terms of his release, he can’t work in the trucking industry. He is expected to make his next court appearance on Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiran N. Bhat is prosecuting the case; Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

If convicted, Singh could face up to 150 years in prison.

The FBI is seeking information from anyone who invested in RBL.

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Source: freightwaves - Florida trucking company owner accused in $100M Ponzi scheme
Editor: Meg Scarbrough