Federal authorities say six people conspired to stage armed robberies in Lake Villa and other Chicago suburbs so the purported victims could apply for special U.S. immigration visas.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said that Parth Nayi and Kewon Young allegedly organized and participated in staged armed robberies at restaurants, coffee shops, liquor stores and gas stations in Chicago and the suburbs of Lombard, Elmwood Park, St. Charles, Hickory Hills, River Grove, Lake Villa and South Holland, as well as restaurants in Rayne, Louisiana, and Belvidere, Tennessee.
According to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Chicago, Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel and Rajnikumar Patel arranged with Nayi to be “victims” of the staged robberies.
The defendants did so in order to submit applications for U non-immigrant status, which is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in an investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment alleges that individuals paid Nayi thousands of dollars to participate in the scam.
During the staged robberies, people acting as robbers brandished what appeared to be firearms, approached the purported victims and demanded money and property.
Some of the purported victims later submitted forms to local law enforcement to obtain certification that they were victims of a qualifying crime and had been, or would be helpful, in the investigation, the indictment said.
Upon receiving certification, some of the purported victims then submitted fraudulent U-visa applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services based upon their status as a robbery victim, the indictment said.
Nayi, 26, of Woodridge; 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, are charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
Ravinaben Patel is also charged with an individual count of making a false statement in a visa application.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. The false statement charge against Ravinaben Patel is punishable by up to 10 years.