Sandeep Grover, of Massapequa, gets 18 months in prison for $11.9M COVID-19 fraud scheme

A Massapequa man was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday for stealing nearly $12 million in pandemic business-relief loans and using the money to buy property and pay personal expenses. 

Sandeep Grover, 56, was also ordered to pay restitution of between $2.2 million and $3.8 million, a $250,000 fine and forfeit assets, including a house in Shirley and one in upstate Preston Hollow.

Grover pleaded guilty in March to a major fraud against the United States and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He had faced up to 12 years and 7 months in prison, according to federal court filings.

Grover is among at least 31 Long Islanders charged with defrauding pandemic-era programs that include the Paycheck Protection Program loans, 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.

In a Manhattan courtroom on Monday, federal prosecutor Jane Y. Chong, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Grover used his accounting and tax preparation business in Seaford, Excellent Business Services Inc., to submit false applications for PPP loans on behalf of more than 100 businesses owned by himself, his family and his clients.

She said Grover used the funds, which totaled $11.9 million, to pay off personal loans, cover the expenses of businesses that didn't receive PPP loans and purchase rental property.

"This is a very wealthy man," Chong said, citing Grover's adjusted gross income of $358,958 per year and ownership stake in more than 80 properties.

"He wasn't struggling to put food on the table or pay off debt to support his family [during the pandemic]. ... He took money that didn't belong to him and could have gone to small businesses and their employees who were desperate," she 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. He also sought loans for clients without first seeking their permission, according to court filings.

In handing down the sentence on Monday, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres said she tried to balance the magnitude of Grover's fraud against his long history of charitable work in the Indian American community.

"You have done good in your life, and my sentence reflects that," the judge said. "You have atoned for your wrongdoing. Now turn the page and devote your life to good deeds."

The judge said she was moved by the show of support for Grover: About 25 family members and friends were seated in the courtroom on Monday and more than 35 people wrote letters of support, including state Sens. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) and Steven D. Rhoads (R-Bellmore) and U.S. Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi (D-Glen Cove).

"There is great good in Sandeep and a continued ability to do good works, to help others, if given the opportunity," Martins said in an 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."

Before the sentence was announced, Grover addressed the court, saying he felt shame, embarrassment and remorse.

"I take full responsibility for my actions," he said, wiping away tears. "I thought that I was helping people to survive, but I was breaking laws that were meant to help us in a time of crisis."

Grover's attorney, Vinoo P. Varghese, said his client will be deported back to his native India upon completion of his prison term. Grover came to the United States in 2001 on a temporary visa. 

"There is a sense of relief," the lawyer said in an interview, referring to Grover's reaction to his punishment. "He is grateful that the court took into account the totality of his life, not just this one incident."

Separately, on Monday, one of Grover's former employees, Abhijeet Singh, 27, of Queens, was sentenced to no prison time and 3 years' probation. In March, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

Singh submitted five false applications for PPP loans and assisted Grover with others, but he did not reap the millions of dollars that the latter did, according to court filings. 

"I was afraid of being blacklisted or [made an] outcast from the community [if he reported Grover]," Singh said before his sentencing. "I'm deeply ashamed."

Singh's attorney, Dennis Lemke, said his client was in awe of Grover and the latter's exalted position in the Indian American community.

Singh "should have walked away when he realized [defrauding the PPP] was wrong," the lawyer said.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.