Eleven Indian citizens living illegally in the US have been charged with visa fraud for allegedly planning staged armed robberies at stores, US federal prosecutors said. Authorities said the suspects are accused of staging fake robberies so store clerks could falsely report being crime victims on immigration applications to get green cards, PTI reported.
Jitendrakumar Patel, 39, Maheshkumar Patel, 36, Sanjaykumar Patel, 45, Dipikaben Patel, 40, Rameshbhai Patel, 52, Amitabahen Patel, 43, Ronakkumar Patel, 28, Sangitaben Patel, 36, Sonal 4 Mitkesh, Patel, Patel 40 of them were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
All were living illegally in various US states such as Massachusetts, Kentucky and Ohio.
Dipikaben was deported to India after illegally residing in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Jitendrakumar, Maheshkumar, Sanjaykumar, Amitabahen, Sangitaben and Mitul were arrested in Massachusetts and released after their first appearance in federal court in Boston on Friday.
Rameshbhai, Ronakkumar, Sonal and Minkesh were arrested in Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio, making their first appearance there. They are scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to charging documents, in March 2023, Rambhai and his co-conspirators planned and executed staged armed robberies of at least six liquor and fast food stores in Massachusetts and elsewhere.
It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the officers present to falsely claim to be victims of a violent crime while applying for U non-immigrant status (U Visa), PTI reported.
The AU Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have been psychologically or physically abused and who have assisted law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of a crime. The U visa offers immigrant work authorization and a path to a green card within 5-10 years.
Authorities said during the alleged staged robberies, the “robber” would threaten the clerk or owner with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the cash register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video.
Clerks or store owners would then wait five or more minutes for the “robber” to run away before calling the police and reporting the “crime”.
The “victims” allegedly paid Rambhai to participate in the program.
In return, Rambhai allegedly paid shop owners to use their shops for the staged robbery.
Rambhai, the “robber” and getaway driver, was earlier charged and convicted.
The 11 defendants charged Friday are said to have either colluded with the mastermind to stage each robbery or paid for themselves or a family member to participate as a “victim.”
The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
