Three Indian-origin persons charged with fraud causing insurance company’s collapse

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

A federal grand jury has charged three persons of Indian origin with fraud causing the collapse of a truck insurance company that was once headquartered in California. The FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.

A federal grand jury indictment charged Jasbir S. Thandi, Sandeep Sahota, and Jaspreet Padda with insurance fraud crimes related to the collapse of Global Hawk Risk Retention Group, an insurance company headquartered in Livermore, California, said United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey.

Sahota was arrested on the December 18 morning and was produced before U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California, Alex G. Tse. Padda was arrested in the Eastern District of California.

The indictment alleges that between 2017 and 2019, Thandi 67, of El Sobrante, the president and treasurer of Global Hawk, misappropriated over $19 million, including sending over $1 million to an entity domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, and over $7 million to other outside entities controlled by him. Thandi, Sahota, 47, resident of Concord, and Padda, 40, of Elk Grove, have been accused of submitting false financial statements to insurance regulators that overstated Global Hawk’s assets by millions of dollars and concealed the misappropriations.

Sahota was Global Hawk’s vice president and secretary, and Padda was the company’s outside investment advisor. Global Hawk’s primary business was providing automobile liability insurance coverage for truck drivers and small trucking companies. In May 2020, after regulators discovered the misappropriation and Global Hawk’s insolvency, the firm was declared insolvent and was liquidated following a court order.

The indictment charges Thandi, Sahota, and Padda with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and two counts of insurance fraud for giving false statements to regulators). Thandi is also accused of two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of bank fraud. Thandi is charged with obtaining a $6.4 million bank loan based on false representations in 2016, and another $14.75 million bank loan, also based on false representations, in 2017.

The conspiracy count has a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Each insurance fraud count has a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Each bank fraud count has a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.

 

 

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