In big US visa scam, Indian admits to staging robberies across US

India Today

21-05-2025

As the Trump administration acts to plug the holes that allowed illegal immigrants to stay back in the US, more cases of armed robberies staged to obtain U-visas are coming forward. A New York-based Indian national, Rambhal Patel, has pleaded guilty to staging armed robberies at retail stores across the US to help illegal immigrants exploit the U-visa programme, which offers deportation relief to victims of certain crimes. Since March 2023, Patel and his accomplices staged at least nine robberies across American states.advertisementPatel, 37, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday before US District Judge Myong J Joun in Boston to one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud. His sentencing has been scheduled for August 20. In December 2023, Patel was charged along with a co-conspirator.The fake robbery was caught on surveillance cameras. The footage showed a burglar waving a weapon, taking cash, and escaping the scene. The "victims" paid Patel to participate in the scheme. One purported victim paid $20,000 (approximately Rs 17.43 lakh) to Patel for staging one of the armed robberies, according to the statement.OWNERS PAID FOR ALLOWING STORES FOR STAGED ROBBERIES
Even the store owners were complicit in these staged robberies.In exchange for using their stores, Patel paid the owners for access to the premises.Beginning in March 2023, Patel and his alleged co-conspirator set up and carried out at least nine staged robberies at convenience stores and restaurants, with five of them in Massachusetts, according to a statement issued by the US Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts.advertisementThe purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the store clerks, who were living in the US illegally, to claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigrant status (U-Visa).A U-Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.The U-Visa was introduced in 2000 to encourage undocumented immigrants to report crimes.CO-CONSPIRATOR EXPECTED TO PLEAD GUILTY ON MAY 22At least two co-conspirators submitted U-Visa applications based on staged armed robberies.While Patel was charged in December 2023, his co-conspirator, identified as Singh, is expected to plead guilty on May 22, the statement added.The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.In a separate case, Fairfield County Police in Connecticut last week charged two Indian nationals for staging a fake robbery in March.After police questioned the shop owner, Birenkumar Patel, in connection with the robbery, he admitted the incident was orchestrated to allow the clerk of his shop, Laxitkumar Patel, to remain in the US by exploiting the U-Visa program, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office statement. It was the clerk who called the police to file a false robbery complaint.