The theft and tax evasion trials of a Scottsbluff couple whose holdings once included a convenience store in Chadron have been merged.
61-year old Kuldip “Cheema” Singh and his wife Carol have a June 5th pre-trial conference in Scotts Bluff County District Court with their trial set for the July 5th jury term.
Cheema Singh was sentenced in 2021 to 120 days in jail and fined $6,000 for bootlegging convictions for buying liquor in Wyoming, where it was less expensive, and selling it in his Scottsbluff store without paying the state liquor tax.
The bootlegging investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol led to a state Dept of Revenue review that resulted in the tax evasion and theft charges.
The Singhs were charged last October and scheduled for separate trials, but prosecutors filed motions in January to consolidate the cases, arguing that the charges, facts, and evidence in both were essentially identical.
District Judge Andrea Miller granted the state’s request last month in a 3-page order.
Both Singhs are charged with 2 counts of tax evasion and failure to pay sales tax, 1 count of filing a fraudulent state tax return, and 1 count of theft of $5,000 or more.