(The Center Square) – Six individuals have been charged by federal prosecutors for orchestrating armed robberies to help alleged victims obtain U.S. immigration visas designated for crime victims.
Prosecutors identified Parth Nayi, a 26-year-old from Woodridge, Illinois, and Kewon Young, a 31-year-old from Mansfield, Ohio, as the alleged masterminds of the scheme, which ran from July 2022 to January.
The accused reportedly arranged staged armed robberies at various establishments, including restaurants, coffee shops, liquor stores, and gas stations across Chicago and its suburbs—Lombard, Elmwood Park, St. Charles, Hickory Hills, River Grove, Lake Villa, and South Holland—as well as in Rayne, Louisiana, and Belvidere, Tennessee.
The indictment claims that four individuals—Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel, and Rajnikumar Patel—paid Nayi substantial amounts to pose as victims. This was part of their plan to apply for U nonimmigrant status, commonly known as “U-visas,” which are available to victims of specific crimes who have experienced severe physical or mental abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement in investigations, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors state that during these staged robberies, individuals acting as robbers displayed what looked like firearms, confronted the supposed victims, and demanded money and belongings.
“Following instructions from Nayi and Young, the individuals posing as robbers sometimes struck the purported victims to make the staged robberies seem authentic,” noted the indictment. “They also took items from the victims and escaped the scene.”
Prosecutors allege that Nayi and Young enlisted others to act as robbers, supplied them with instructions, and coordinated the timing and locations with the supposed victims. They paid these actors with money received from the purported victims, per the indictment.
Following these incidents, some of the purported victims submitted documentation to local law enforcement to certify that they were victims of qualifying crimes and were or would be cooperative in the investigation. After obtaining certification, they then allegedly submitted fraudulent U-visa applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud are Nayi, 26, of Woodridge, Illinois; Young, 31, of Mansfield, Ohio; Bhikhabhai Patel, 51, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Nilesh Patel, 32, of Jackson, Tennessee; Ravinaben Patel, 23, of Racine, Wisconsin; and Rajnikumar Patel, 32, of Jacksonville, Florida.
Additionally, Ravinaben Patel faces a charge of making a false statement in a visa application.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, while the false statement charge can lead to a sentence of up to ten years.
In 2023, prosecutors from the Northern District of Illinois also charged a Chicago immigration attorney for assisting clients in submitting immigration forms involving sham marriages, fake jobs, and false domestic abuse claims.
