TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. — Two individuals were charged following an attempted theft of $26,000 from an elderly resident, who worked with police to catch the suspects, Ulster Police said Wednesday.
The victim was contacted on Sept. 19 by someone claiming to be a “federal inspector general,” instructing her to withdraw a large sum of cash to avoid criminal charges. The suspects monitored her during the withdrawal and directed her to meet an “undercover agent” to hand over the money.
Unaware that detectives were accompanying the victim, the suspects, Karanveer Singh and Jaspreet Singh Gill of Bellerose, Long Island, met the victim and retrieved the package. Gill was immediately arrested, while Singh, waiting in a getaway car, attempted to flee, nearly hitting two detectives. After a high-speed chase through Kingston, Ulster, and the New York State Thruway, Singh was apprehended.
Singh faces charges including scheme to defraud, attempted grand larceny as a hate crime, reckless endangerment, fleeing police, resisting arrest, and conspiracy. Gill was charged with scheme to defraud, attempted grand larceny as a hate crime, conspiracy, and resisting arrest.
Singh remains held at Ulster County Jail on $10,000 bail; Gill was released with court tickets. The investigation involved Ulster Police, Kingston Police, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, state police, and the Ulster County District Attorney.
