A Massapequa man is expected to be sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court for stealing nearly $12 million in pandemic business-relief loans.
Sandeep Grover, 56, pleaded guilty in March to a major fraud against the United States and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 12 years and seven months in prison, according to court filings.
Grover allegedly used his accounting and tax preparation business in Seaford -- Excellent Business Services Inc. -- to submit false applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of more than 100 businesses owned by himself, his family and his clients.
Prosecutors said Grover used the PPP funds to pay off personal loans and cover expenses for businesses that didn't receive loans. He also used the money to buy property, including a rental house in Shirley, according to a complaint filed by the FBI in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Grover is among at least 31 Long Islanders charged with defrauding pandemic-era programs that include the PPP, COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans, the Employee Retention Credit and several other tax credits, a Newsday analysis found.
Together, the defendants are accused of illegally obtaining more than $93 million, according to federal court filings in Central Islip, New York City and White Plains.
Last week, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan confirmed that Grover's sentencing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Monday before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
In court filings, prosecutors said many of the PPP applications that Grover submitted to at least seven banks in 2020 and 2021 had no employees and no payroll, based on records from the Social Security Administration and state Department of Labor.
"Not content to submit dozens of applications on his own, he recruited others -- individuals who had no criminal histories -- to falsify company records, doctor bank statements, make calls to banks and submit additional applications," said Jane Y. Chong, an assistant U.S. Attorney, in a sentencing memorandum.
She also said Grover submitted PPP applications for businesses without first seeking the owner's permission. At the time, he adjusted gross income was $358,958 per year, she said.
Grover's attorney, Vinoo P. Varghese, said he shouldn't go to prison because he's already paid full restitution of $3.7 million to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which oversaw the PPP. Grover also has agreed to $11.9 million in forfeiture, including the sale of the Shirley house and another in upstate Preston Hollow.
The lawyer said Grover, who immigrated to the United States from India in 2001, faces deportation.
More than 35 people, including state Sens. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) and Steven D. Rhoads (R-Bellmore) and Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), wrote to the judge on Grover's behalf. Many cited his charitable work in the Indian-American community in the New York area.
"I have witnessed the care [Grover] has for others, the charity he provides...There is great good in Sandeep and a continued ability to do good works, to help others, if given the opportunity," Martins said in a Aug. 12 letter to the judge.
Suozzi, in a letter, said, Grover "is committed to rebuilding a productive and responsible life and hopes that you will take the entirety of his life into consideration when determining an appropriate sentence."