MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Selden man was sentenced to three to nine years in prison today for embezzling more than $3,000,000 from Five Town Pediatrics, PC, a local pediatric practice in Woodmere and Bellmore. He must also pay a civil judgement in the amount of $3,102,764.30.
Peter Singh, 43, pled guilty before Judge William O’Brien on November 7, 2018 to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a C felony).
“This defendant was entrusted with managing Five Town Pediatrics’ finances, and he betrayed that trust when he stole more than $3 million over eight years,” DA Singas said. “Peter Singh’s greed will cost him his liberty, and I’m grateful to the NCPD and our prosecutors for bringing him to justice.”
DA Singas said that in 2010 the defendant was an employee of Five Town Pediatrics, PC, and was promoted to practice administrator. As practice administrator, he was given unsupervised control over the practice’s human resources functions, including payroll, 401K administration, and the hiring of support staff. His thefts went undetected for years despite investigations by the practice’s previous accountants.
Between 2010 and January 2018 he increased his salary by $1,126,800; paid his wife, who was never an employee, $1,726,791; paid his step-daughter, who was also never an employee, $136,053; and paid another company, RSS of NY, which he was a signatory on, $29,602. During this same time, Singh used the practice’s bank account to live beyond his means, including payments for a high-end Lexus, and to repay loans from his own 401K account, totaling $83,517. In total, the practice lost $3,102,764.
In January 2018, after noticing discrepancies in their finances, the physician owners hired a forensic accountant and bookkeeper who uncovered the embezzlement. The case was referred to the Nassau County Police Department’s Robbery Squad, which jointly investigated the case with the NCDA’s Financial Crimes Bureau. The defendant was arrested on May 15, 2018 by the NCPD’s Robbery Squad.
No patient identification information was compromised during the embezzlement. The defendant was terminated from his position in February 2018.
Senior Assistant District Attorney April Montgomery of DA Singas’ Financial Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting this case. The defendant is represented by Scott Limmer, Esq.
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