New York Tax Preparer Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Submitting Fraudulent Pandemic Relief Applications

A New York man was sentenced today to two years in prison for making false statements on loan applications he submitted on behalf of his clients through a pandemic relief program. According to court documents, Baltej Singh Brar, 42, of South Richmond Hill, New York, owned and operated Aspire Tax & Accounting Services Inc., a tax preparation, accounting, and consulting firm where Brar was an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) registered tax preparer. In 2021, Brar began filing loan applications on behalf of other individuals through the Paycheck Protection Program, a COVID-19 relief program intended to provide loans backed by the Small Business Administration (to certain businesses, nonprofit organizations, and others to help them remain afloat during the pandemic.