FBI arrests Howland man on fraud charge

January 23, 2015 at 9:45a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A 30-page affidavit filed in Youngstown Federal Court by a local FBI agent lays out a fraud he says a Howland gas station owner carried out in 2012 to defraud an Illinois bank out of $2.5 million.

Shaukat M. Sindhu, 54, of Torrey Pines Street NE just north of Avalon Lakes Golf Course, was ordered into federal custody without bond by Magistrate George Limbert Tuesday while a federal grand jury considers charges.

Sindhu has been owner and operator of gas stations throughout the Mahoning Valley since 2007, including ones on Bear’s Den Road in Youngstown, South State Street in Girard, West Market Street in Warren, Vienna Avenue in Niles, Main Street in New Middletown and Akron Canfield Road in Ellsworth.