SCOTTSBLUFF — A Scottsbluff liquor store owner and his wife are accused of failing to pay more than $100,000 in sales taxes and thousands of dollars in state taxes.
According to Scotts Bluff County Court records, charges of two counts of evading income tax, two counts of failure to pay sales tax, filing a fraudulent state income tax return and theft by taking, all felonies, were filed against Kuldip Singh, 60, and his wife Carol Singh.
Offenses are alleged to have taken place in 2019 and 2020, according to court records.
According to an arrest affidavit, Marcus Ford, an investigator for the Nebraska Department of Revenue, began working with Nebraska State Patrol investigator Rob Jackson, who heads liquor enforcement in the Nebraska Panhandle, after Jackson received an anonymous complaint from a former employee of Singh's alleging he was bootlegging liquor from his Wyoming store to the Scottsbluff retail location.
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As part of the investigation, authorities obtained subpoenas for the bank accounts of Kuldip and Carol Singh, as well as accounts under the Cheema business name.Â
A sales and income analysis of accounts and records “were conclusive that purchases were being continually made for all of Singh’s liquor stores and bars,†the affidavit states.
Authorities allege that transfers from the Cheema Investments account were being made to bank accounts for each retail liquor store and bar and purchases for many of the retail locations were greater than the sales Singh reported to the state.
Ford alleges the Singhs intended to evade tax liability from December 2018 to December 2020 by underreporting sales tax of $109,350 for about $1,540,556 in underreported sales.
The affidavit further alleges that Kuldip Singh did not file an individual income tax return for 2018 and underreported income in 2019. He is alleged to have failed to report income of approximately $635,775, with a tax liability of about $28,004, in 2018 and income of $727,879, with a tax liability of about $42,167.
Carol Singh is alleged to have failed to report income of about $583,553 with the intent to evade tax liability of $24,212. For the tax year of 2019, she is alleged to have failed to report income of $466,915 to evade tax liability of $29,463.
Kuldip Singh and Carol Singh were arrested Tuesday. However, they posted bond and were released.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case. An attorney for the Singhs had not yet been entered in court.
The Singhs continue to operate stores in Scottsbluff, Chadron, Bridgeport and Torrington, Wyoming, despite Kuldip Singh having been convicted of liquor law violations in August. An appeal by Singh of that conviction to Scotts Bluff County District Court remains pending.