2 months ago
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Eleven Indian nationals, surviving illegally successful the U.S., person been charged with visa fraud for conspiring to transportation retired staged equipped robberies of convenience shops, according to U.S. national prosecutors.
Authorities said the suspects are accused of organising fake robberies for the intent of allowing the store clerks to falsely assertion they were transgression victims connected migration applications towards getting a Green Card.
Jitendrakumar Patel, 39, Maheshkumar Patel, 36, Sanjaykumar Patel, 45, Dipikaben Patel, 40, Rameshbhai Patel, 52, Amitabahen Patel, 43, Ronakkumar Patel, 28, Sangitaben Patel, 36, Minkesh Patel, 42, Sonal Patel, 42 and Mitul Patel, 40 person been charged with 1 number of conspiracy to perpetrate visa fraud.
They each were surviving unlawfully successful assorted U.S. states specified arsenic Massachusetts, Kentucky and Ohio.
Dipikaben was deported to India aft unlawfully residing successful Weymouth, Massachusetts, the Justice Department said successful a statement.
Jitendrakumar, Maheshkumar, Sanjaykumar, Amitabahen, Sangitaben and Mitul were arrested successful Massachusetts and released pursuing an archetypal quality successful national tribunal successful Boston connected Friday (March 13, 2026).
Rameshbhai, Ronakkumar, Sonal and Minkesh were arrested and made their archetypal appearances successful Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio. They volition look successful national tribunal successful Boston astatine a aboriginal date.
According to the charging documents, successful March 2023, Rambhai and his co-conspirators acceptable up and carried retired staged equipped robberies of astatine slightest six convenience/liquor stores and accelerated nutrient restaurants successful Massachusetts and elsewhere.
It is alleged that the intent of the staged robberies was to let the clerks contiguous to falsely assertion that they were victims of a convulsive transgression connected an exertion for a U non-immigration presumption (U Visa).
A U Visa is disposable to victims of definite crimes who person suffered intelligence oregon carnal maltreatment and who person been adjuvant to instrumentality enforcement successful the probe oregon prosecution of transgression activity. The U visa offers an migrant enactment authorisation and a way to a Green Card wrong 5–10 years.
Authorities said that successful the people of the alleged staged robberies, the “robber” would endanger store clerks oregon the owners with an evident firearm earlier taking currency from the registry and fleeing, portion the enactment was captured connected store surveillance video.
The clerks oregon the store owners would past hold 5 oregon much minutes until the “robber” had escaped earlier calling the constabulary to study the “crime.” The “victims” are alleged to person each paid Rambhai to enactment successful the scheme. In turn, Rambhai allegedly paid the store owners for the usage of their stores for the staged robbery.
Rambhai, the “robber,” and the getaway operator were antecedently charged and convicted.
The 11 defendants charged connected Friday (March 13, 2026) are alleged to person either arranged with the organiser to acceptable up each robbery, oregon paid for themselves oregon a household subordinate to enactment arsenic a “victim.” The complaint of conspiracy to perpetrate visa fraud provides for a condemnation of up to 5 years successful prison, 3 years of supervised merchandise and a good of $250,000.
