Hicksville-based contractors accused by feds of payroll-fraud scheme

The owners of a Hicksville-based construction company allegedly underpaid their employees and submitted phony payroll records to New York City to pocket funds and benefit their relatives, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

Dalip Singh, 67, of East Meadow, and Gurnirmal Singh, 64, of Westbury, have both been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Joseph Nocella, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced Friday in a news release.

The two men, who are not related, own TEMCO Construction NY, Inc., a firm previously based in Jamaica before relocating to Hicksville earlier this year, according to the release. From 2017 to 2025, they hired people in the country illegally to perform "masonry, scaffolding, and construction services at New York City public schools and DOE buildings," the release said.

Both defendants ordered employees to destroy evidence of their activities, Nocella said in the release.

"As alleged, the defendants lied to the DOE about using undocumented workers, and deprived those workers — who toiled long days, school holidays, and weekends — of proper compensation they had earned, so that they could line their pockets and bank accounts on New York City’s tab," Nocella said.

The two men appeared Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak in Brooklyn federal court. Both "were charged by complaint so they did not have to enter a plea today," John Marzulli, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys office, told Newsday in an email Friday.

Kyla Wells, who represents Gurnirmal Singh, and Christopher Wright, the defense attorney for Dalip Singh, did not immediately respond to telephone messages Friday seeking comment.

Dalip Singh submitted certified payroll documents to the New York City Department of Education that stated TEMCO was paying workers their due compensation, according to the complaint.

However, former employees filed complaints to the city comptroller’s office and discussed matters with law enforcement agents that contradicted the filings. Former employees, for instance, submitted two complaints to the comptroller stating that instead of being paid the prevailing wage of $400 per day in 2019 and 2020, they received $150 daily.

The remaining funds were pocketed by Dalip and Gurnirmal Singh, according to the news release. 

The two men falsified payroll documents, naming family members as workers, to boost their Social Security earnings, according to the release.

When Dalip Singh believed TEMCO was under investigation, the release said, "he directed his employees to conceal and destroy records."