The saga continues. former Westchester County Board of Legislators staffer Anand Singh was arrested Monday morning and charged with one count of attempted enticement of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The Complaint charges that Singh communicated with an individual, who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, on Hily, a dating application, and via text message and made plans to meet the individual at an apartment building in New Jersey to engage in sexual activity. Singh was presented Monday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court and detained pending a bail hearing on Wednesday, May 3rd.
Singh, who lives in Tarrytown, was apparently caught soliciting sex from who he thought was a 14-year-old girl in New Jersey. He was caught when he drove 2 1/2 hours to NJ to get with who he thought was an underage teen in December and it was allegedly brought to the attention to the BOL leadership, and nothing was done, until a YouTube video was made public by OBL, Wednesday, April 12th.
As alleged in the criminal Complaint:[1]
In December of 2022, SINGH, then an employee of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, used a mobile dating application called “Hily” and text messages to entice an individual posing as a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity with him. SINGH used the screen name “Anon” to communicate with the individual on the Hily application. During these communications, SINGH repeatedly expressed, in graphic and unambiguous terms, his desire to engage in sexual activity with the individual and made a plan to meet her at an apartment building in Newark, New Jersey, for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity. In the early hours of December 17, 2022, SINGH went to the location where he and the individual posing as a 14-year-old girl planned to meet.
There have been many speculations of just when former BOL Chairwoman Catherine Borgia knew. It’s alleged that she became aware of it like late December 2022, when it took place but did not fire the staffer until mid-April when a video surfaced online. She has been accused of several legislators of having prior knowledge and collectively asked for Borgia’s resignation.
“We, members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, are asking Chairwoman Catherine Borgia to resign from her position as Chair. While she has been a leader that has guided us through historic and life-changing pieces of legislation, we have lost confidence in her ability to lead this body and the staff that supports it. Government’s job is to protect people and ensure those ideals are clear in our words and actions.”
Tuesday, April 18th, Chief Assistant District Attorney Amy Finzi sent a letter to Borgia, citing their knowledge of suspected criminal activity by terminated BOL staffer, Anand Singh. The letter states the Westchester County District Attorney’s office (WCDAO) was made aware of these allegations on April 14th, after the OBL Global Youtube video was posted. The letter requests “all data, materials, notes, information and communications” on this matter. Specifically, it also requires any notices given to elected board members related to this incident.
THE WCDAO, My Sisters’ Place and the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Southern District of NY) held a virtual panel on Jan. 31, 2023, on keeping minors safe from the dangers of sex traffickers and predators online and social media. I cannot help but question the irony of the county DA warning the public about online predators and not only Borgia did not contact the WCDAO, but she allowed her staffer Singh to keep his job only terminating him in April after video surfaced. Keeping him on payroll and not contacting the WCDAO endangered the staff and the public.
It is ironic that the very DA that Borgia appears to not want to work with is giving this important panel. Covered in the panel is the exact same video the National Center for Missing Exploited Children (NCMEC) about vigilante YouTuber who works with police as a decoy online to catch predators like Singh praying on teens. If you watch it, it’s uncannily similar to the OBL sting that caught Singh.
On Monday morning, May 1st, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “33-year-old Anand Singh allegedly attempted to entice an individual, who he believed to be a 14-year-old, to meet for sexual purposes, via dating and text apps. Today’s arrest is a reminder of the inherent danger the internet could potentially pose to our youth and the critical importance to protect them from online predators.”
After the arrest Borgia who resigned her position in leadership on Friday, April 26th, just minutes before a vote was to be held to forcibly remove her released a statement;
“I have been informed today that the FBI Safe Streets Task Force has arrested former Board of Legislators employee Anand Singh. I called on them to investigate 2 weeks ago. I want to thank the FBI for their swift response. In addition, thank you to the Westchester County Department of Public Safety for their ongoing investigation and cooperation with all relevant law enforcement agencies.”
While Borgia takes credit for contacting the FBI two weeks ago, sources tell Black Westchester that the SDNY was already investigating. BW also asked previously why would Borgia bypass the DA’s office and contact the FBI?
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force. He also thanked the Westchester County Police Department and Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for their participation and support in this investigation. But Borgia who never contacted the DA’s office noticeably omitted the WCDOA for her statement. Why is that?
It is important to note that, the statutory minimum and maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge and Singh should be considered innocent until proven guilty. The arrest and indictment is just the beginning.
Stay tuned to Black Westchester for more on this developing story which appears to be the gift that keeps on giving.
