Former Elk Grove Resident Pleads Guilty To Investment Fraud Scheme And False Statements In Bankruptcy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Vincent Thakur Singh, 45, formerly of Elk Grove, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and false statements in bankruptcy, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Singh carried out an investment fraud through an entity known as the Perfect Financial Group. He targeted 190 members of the ethnic Indian Fijian community for an investment fraud that grossed approximately $20 million. Singh told investors that he was using their money for hard money lending. In fact, Singh used $12 million of investors’ money for gambling, made $2 million in currency withdrawals, spent $880,000 on a film project, and spent more than $1 million on other business ventures. Singh also used millions of dollars of investor money to pay other victims and give Perfect Financial the false appearance of success.

According to the plea agreement, on August 19, 2010, Singh declared bankruptcy and failed to disclose 19 of the bank accounts that he had used in the investment fraud.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI with assistance from the office of the U.S. Trustee. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew D. Segal is prosecuting the case.

Singh is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Morrison C. England Jr. on June 12, 2014. Singh faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and five years in prison for false statements in bankruptcy. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was done in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.