In a recent development, a federal court in Chicago has indicted six individuals, four of whom are Indian nationals, for orchestrating armed robberies in Chicago and its suburbs. This scheme was devised to enable the purported victims to fraudulently apply for U-visas, which are designated for individuals who have suffered abuse, either physical or mental, as victims of certain crimes and have assisted law enforcement or government officials in investigations or prosecutions.
According to the indictment unveiled in the federal court, Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel, and Rajni Kumar Patel collaborated with Parth Nayi and Kewong Young to stage the robberies. These staged incidents were aimed at fabricating victims' status so that they could submit U-visa applications.
The indictment alleges that the four individuals paid Nayi substantial sums to participate in the fraudulent scheme. During these staged robberies, individuals posing as assailants brandished what appeared to be firearms, confronted the alleged victims, and demanded money and possessions.
Following the staged incidents, some of the purported victims submitted forms to local law enforcement to obtain certification as victims of qualifying crimes and their cooperation in investigations. Subsequently, some of these individuals filed fraudulent U-visa applications with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services based on their purported victimhood in the robberies.
The Department of Justice disclosed that Parth Nayi, 26, and Kewong Young, 31, along with Bhikhabhai Patel, 51, Nilesh Patel, 32, Ravinaben Patel, 23, and Rajnikumar Patel, 32, face charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Additionally, Ravinaben Patel faces an individual charge of making a false statement in a visa application.
The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, while the false statement charge against Ravinaben Patel is punishable by up to ten years, as outlined in the media release.
