"Over a four-year period, Mr. Singh arranged for more than 800 people to be smuggled into the US across the northern border and into Washington State," claimed Gorman.
Digital Desk: A 49-year-old
Indian-origin man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for
smuggling over 800 Indian residents into the United States via the ride-hailing
app Uber.
Rajinder Pal Singh, aka
Jaspal Gill, pleaded guilty in February, confessing to taking in more than USD
500,000 as a key member of a smuggling network that brought hundreds of Indian
immigrants across the border from Canada, according to a press statement from
the Department of Justice.
Singh, a California citizen,
was sentenced on Tuesday to "45 months in prison for Conspiracy to
Transport and Harbour Certain Aliens for Profit and Conspiracy to Commit Money
Laundering," according to Acting US Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.
"Over a four-year
period, Mr. Singh arranged for more than 800 people to be smuggled into the US
across the northern border and into Washington State," claimed Gorman.
She claimed that Singh's
actions not only put Washington's security at risk but also put individuals who
were being smuggled in danger along the frequently lengthy smuggling path from
India to the US.
"Mr Singh's
participation in this conspiracy preyed upon the Indian nationals' hopes for a
better life in the US while saddling those smuggled with a crushing debt of as
much as USD 70,000," stated Gorman.
According to the news
release, which cited documents submitted in the case, starting in July 2018,
Singh and his accomplices used Uber to transport individuals who had illegitimately
crossed the border from Canada to the Seattle region.
Singh organized more than
600 journeys involving the transportation of Indian people who were being
trafficked into the US illegally between mid-2018 and May 2022.
According to research
estimates, the 17 Uber accounts connected to the smuggling operation accrued
more than USD 80,000 in charges between July 2018 and April 2022.
In trips that typically
started near the border in the early hours and were split across different
riders, Singh's accomplices would use the one-way vehicle rentals to transport
individuals smuggled to their final destinations outside Washington state,
according to the press release.
The smuggling ring's members
also employed sophisticated techniques to launder the illegal gains. Singh
acknowledged in the plea deal that the complicated money movement was done to
hide the fact that the funds were obtained illegally.
According to the news
release, investigators also seized around $45,000 in cash and fake
identification documents from one of Singh's California properties.
Singh, who is not authorized
to be in the country, will probably be deported after serving his sentence.
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