FLINT, MI - A judge declined to allow a former Flint liquor store employee to withdraw his guilty plea or his role in a $1.3 million food stamp fraud scheme after he claimed he would be targeted for an "honor killing" if he were deported back to India following his conviction.

Instead, Judge Linda V. Parker on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Flint U.S. District Court sentenced Jatinder "Bobby" Singh to time served and ordered him to pay $81,197 in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

After an immigration court denied Singh asylum in the United States in December 2017, his attorney, Kimberly W. Stout, filed a motion requesting the judge allow him to withdraw his plea in the case.

"His position is that he was confused about the system and some of the total consequences, but the judge and prosecutors both believe they made that clear on the record in court," said Stout. "This is a very sad situation and I'm just very disappointed with immigration and our current administration. He has two American children ... he's fearful to return."

Singh, 31, pleaded guilty to aiding the food stamp scheme operating at Paradise House of Liquor in April 2017 under the assumption he would be allowed to stay in the United States due to the "horrendous circumstances" he faced if he returned to India, Stout's motion said.

If the former Flint liquor store employee is deported to India, he will be killed by his wife's family, Stout said.

"This is obviously a very troubling situation," Stout said. "He was very much used and preyed upon in this case ... He has two children here and now he doesn't know what going to happen."

The U.S. Attorney's response to Stout's motion was sealed in court records because it included exclusive information from Singh's application for immigration, according to court records.

A spokesperson for the office also declined to comment on the case.

According to Stout's filing, Singh fled to the United States from India in 2008 after being targeted by his wife's family for an "honor killing" -- a killing carried out on one who is accused of bringing shame to their family.

Because Singh's wife was of a different culture than him, the pair was not permitted by the family to marry, the court filing states. The filing added that when Singh proposed to the woman, she was beaten by her father and Singh was threatened with death.

In 2008, the couple obtained United States visas and lived in New York City for nearly seven years before moving to Flint with their two children - ages 6 and 8 - for work in 2014, the filing said.

While working at the Paradise Liquor House on Fleming Road in Flint, Singh allowed his visa to expire and no longer has legal status in the United States, according to court records.

Alongside Lakhbir "Lucky" Chahal and Tony "Paco" Price, Singh pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before Flint U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker in April 2017.

In July, Parker sentenced Chahal - the owner of both Liquor Plus and Paradise House and accused ringleader in the scheme - to spend between 3.5 and 4.5 years behind bars, while Price was put on probation.

At both liquor stores, Chahal would pay customers 50 cents cash in exchange for each dollar of their food stamps benefits. He would also exchange benefits for ineligible items such as cigarettes and alcohol, authorities said, claiming that Chahal then illegally used the food stamp benefits to purchase stock for the stores.

Singh worked for Chahal at Paradise Liquor from February to October 2015, according to court records.

While he worked there, Singh bought Bridge Cards from beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to court documents.

Singh, at the direction of Chahal, also used the Bridge Cards to buy inventory for Paradise House of Liquor, investigators said

Flint police padlocked both liquor stores in 2016 following a rash of shootings at the businesses.

Although Singh waived his right to appeal his sentence when he pleaded guilty to the charges against him, he may still file an appeal on the judge's ruling on a technicality, Stout said.

The Indian government reports that since 2014, around 500 people - mostly women - have died in "honor killings" in the country, a number which some activists say is "vastly under-reported," according to an article in Reuters.

In November 2017, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the deportation of a metro Detroit woman who faced an honor killing if she returned home to Jordan.