Indian-Origin man jailed for smuggling over 800 Indians into US using Uber

An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to over three years in prison for smuggling over 800 Indian citizens into the US using Uber. According to a report by the news agency PTI on Thursday (June 29), the US Justice Department said Rajinder Pal Singh, a resident of California, pleaded guilty in February- admitting that he took in over $50,000 as a key member of a smuggling ring, bringing in hundreds of Indian nationals across the border from Canada.

Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman said that Singh, 49, was sentenced on Tuesday in prison for conspiracy to transport and harbour certain aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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"Over a four-year period, Mr Singh arranged for more than 800 people to be smuggled into the US across the northern border and into Washington State," Gorman said.

Seventeen Uber accounts tied to smuggling ring

Citing records filed in the case, the Justice Department said that from July 2018 Singh and his co-conspirators used Uber to transport people who had illegally crossed the border from Canada to Seattle. And from mid-2018 to May 2022, the 49-year-old arranged over 600 trips involving the transportation of Indian nationals illegally smuggled into the US.

From July 2018 to April 2022, the 17 Uber accounts tied to the smuggling ring ran up more than $80,000 in charges, investigation estimates showed.

The Justice Department said that the co-conspirators would use the one-way vehicle rentals to transport those smuggled to their ultimate destinations outside Washington state in trips that usually began near the border in the early hours and were split between different rides.

The members of the smuggling ring also used sophisticated means to launder the illicit proceeds. The Justice Department said investigators also found about $45,000 in cash and counterfeit identity documents from one of Singh's homes in California.

It further said that Singh, who is not legally present in the US, will likely be deported following his prison term.

(With inputs from agencies)

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