Indy gas station owners accuse partner of embezzling at least $1M

(Adobe Stock photo)

Two owners of a gas station and convenience store in downtown Indianapolis have filed a lawsuit against another partner, accusing him of embezzling at least $1 million from the store over a three-year period.  

Elhadji Bane and Harpreet Darar and their company, Raja Oil Inc., filed the lawsuit last week in Marion Superior Court against Simarjit Singh Dhillon. 

The plaintiffs’ claims concern a Marathon gas station located at at 239 E. Michigan St. that the three men c0-own.

Dhillon’s attorney, Jonathan Hughes of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP,  said his client “denies the unfounded allegations in the complaint and will vigorously defend himself against the accusations in court.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Bane is president of Raja Oil, the company that operates the store, and owns 20% of its shares. Darar is the company’s secretary and owns 30% of its shares. 

Dhillon is the company’s vice president and owns 50% of its shares.  

From 2020 until June 2025, Dhillon operated the convenience store.

While distributions from the store’s profits were in line with plaintiffs’ expectations from 2020 to 2022, the plaintiffs allege that from 2022-2025, the store’s profits and distributions dropped significantly without explanation.  

According to the plaintiffs, who say they are experienced in the retail petroleum industry, the store should have generated approximately $75,000 to $100,000 in monthly profits but did not.  

The profits under Dhillon’s control made plaintiffs suspicious, so Bane assumed control of the store’s operations beginning in July 2025, the lawsuit states.  

Within three months of his assuming control, the company’s realized profits were in line with the plaintiffs’ expectations, according to the lawsuit.  

The plaintiffs claim that they investigated Dhillon and discovered he had been diverting the company’s assets for several years.

The plaintiffs believe Dhillon failed to deposit cash receipts into the company’s bank account, wrote checks to personal and other entity accounts tied to him, paid for other entities’ expenses using the company’s money, and diverted the company’s inventory to other entities, court documents state. 

While they are still assessing the company’s finances, the plaintiffs say they “reasonably believe the amount of Dhillon’s embezzlement reaches into seven figures.”

In the months since removing Dhillon’s control of the company’s operations, the plaintiffs say he has repeatedly interfered with the company and the store’s operations.  

They claim that Dhillon placed multiple inventory orders on the company’s tab in excess of the company’s needs. The plaintiffs believe this excess inventory, and others like it, headed to other gas stations affiliated with Dhillon, according to court documents. 

The plaintiffs also say Dhillon unnecessarily lowered the prices of various items in the store and grades of gasoline so that the company lost money on their sales.  

On two occasions, the plaintiffs also claim Dhillon initiated physical altercations and confrontations with them, including on one occasion where he allegedly tried to stop Bane from taking cash receipts to his car to take them to the bank. According to Bane, Dhillon followed him into the parking lot and physically prevented him from closing his car door.  

On Nov. 3, Bane’s counsel informed Dhillon’s counsel that Bane would be firing three employees hired by Dhillon, and that Dhillon could no longer have hiring or firing authority at the company. Bane’s counsel also informed Dhillon’s counsel that he was prohibited from entering the store’s premises without prior notice, the lawsuit says.

Shortly after an email exchange between the two parties, Dhillon allegedly drove to the store and refused to leave. Bane called the police, but because Dhillon owns 50% of the company, the responding officer said he couldn’t eject him from the premises.  

The next day, Dhillon visited the store, and his counsel advised that he was purporting to fire two employees hired by Bane, which would’ve resulted in Bane and Dhillon being the only employees left at the company, according to the lawsuit.  

The lawsuit accuses Dhillon of breach of fiduciary duty, theft, deception, and criminal conversion. Bane also accuses Dhillon of false imprisonment.

Bane and Darar are seeking an injunction prohibiting Dhillon from entering the store premises without prior notice and prohibiting him from interfering with the company’s operations. They also seek repayment for their losses and punitive damages.

The lawsuit is Raja Oil, Inc., Elhadji Bane, Harpreet Darar v. Simarjit Singh Dhillon, 49D01-2511-CE-052334.