The owner of a South Florida trucking company was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison Friday for orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of working-class investors—many of them immigrants from Haiti, Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela—out of tens of millions of dollars.
According to a Miami Herald report, Sanjay Singh, 45, the former president of Coral Springs-based Royal Bengal Logistics Inc., was convicted in November of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors said he raised over $158 million from investors between 2020 and 2023, promising double-digit returns and partial ownership of trucks in his company. But instead, Singh used the money to pay off earlier investors and fund his personal lifestyle, according to court records.
U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz handed down the sentence in Fort Lauderdale federal court, calling Singh a “huckster” who lied to victims to enrich himself. A restitution hearing is scheduled for June 26.
“Mr. Singh, if you are not aware, and just like you, my wife and many others you duped are immigrants who came to the US to further our education and/or seek a better life,” one 66-year-old victim wrote in a letter filed with the court. “You stole our happiness, our retirement, our financial freedom, and our money that we entrusted you with.” The man said he had to come out of retirement after losing his life savings.
Singh had initially remained free on a $1 million bond following his conviction, but prosecutors argued he posed a flight risk and could flee to his native India. The judge revoked Singh’s bond in mid-November, and he has been held at a Broward County jail since.
The scheme unraveled after federal investigators found that Singh had borrowed hundreds of millions from about 2,000 investors—many of Haitian descent—by falsely promoting Royal Bengal as a booming business generating up to $1 million per month in revenue. Singh promised investors their funds would expand the company’s fleet to 200 semi-trucks and trailers and help build a maintenance facility in Lubbock, Texas.
Instead, the FBI and U.S. Justice Department found Singh used investor funds to renovate his home, make mortgage payments, cover personal expenses, and trade stocks on margin—all while the trucking company itself was losing money.
In total, investors lost about $54 million in what prosecutors described as “a classic Ponzi scheme” deserving of a 25-year sentence. Singh and his co-conspirators, some of whom were Haitian American employees, misrepresented the risk and profitability of Royal Bengal while funneling new money to pay old investors.
The scale and impact of the fraud have been devastating for many in South Florida’s immigrant communities, particularly Haitian Americans, who were drawn in by Singh’s high-yield investment promises and assurances of business growth.
