On May 1, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANAND SINGH was arrested and charged with one count of attempted enticement of a minor. 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 to engage in sexual activity. SINGH was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court and detained pending a bail hearing on Wednesday.
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.”
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.
ANAND SINGH, 33, of Tarrytown, New York, is 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 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.
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.
The investigation is ongoing and there may be other victims of this alleged conduct. If you have information to report concerning ANAND SINGH, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer was asked about the Anand Singh matter during his weekly press briefing on May 1. “This issue has been quite the controversy over the past ten days. It has directly involved the leaders of the Board of Legislators as they made their assessment about what happened with Mr. Singh. ..I was personally made aware that he may have been involved in illegal actions on or about Aprl 12 or 13. The only interaction we had with him was he was a member of our Asian-American Advisory Board. We sought and received an immediate resignation…The video became apparent to us at the same time that he was let go from the BOL. We were not aware that the video had existed previously. Had it existed earlier, more decisive action would have happened. The leadership of the Board of Legislators is at the prerogative of the board of legislators.”
County Legislator and former Chair Catherine Borgia said after Singh’s arrest, “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.”
County Legislator Nancy Barr has been named BOL Chair. To read a copy of the US Attorney criminal complaint against Singh, visit Download U.S._v._Singh_Complaint.pdf.
