A Bronx scaffolding business boss who dodged millions of dollars in taxes was sentenced Friday to serve weekends behind bars for four months – and pay back $2 million.
Prabhjit Singh, 36, pleaded guilty last month to criminal tax fraud for underreporting income from his Rock Scaffolding Corp. and M.S.S. Sidewalk companies dating back to 2008, officials said.
The scaffold scofflaw tried to hide his profits – which included contracts from both the city and the state – by cashing checks at check-cashing stores instead of depositing them in the firms’ bank accounts, authorities said.
Singh then either underreported his income on his tax returns or did not file them at all, officials said.
Singh had already paid $1 million in back taxes and fees when he pleaded guilty in Bronx Supreme Court on January 19, 2017, to two counts of fourth-degree criminal tax fraud said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
He will pay back the other $1 million over the next few months, the DA’s office said.
“Such disregard of the law is a slap in the face of hardworking taxpayers,” Clark said in a statement.
“I hope this serves as a strong deterrent to those who look for ways to skirt the law,” added Department of Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha.
