Convicted Smuggler Appeals Sentence In Fatal Border Crossing Case

India-West News Desk

MINNEAPOLIS, MN– Harshkumar Patel, an Indian national convicted in a human smuggling operation linked to the deaths of an Indian family near the Manitoba-Minnesota border in 2022, has asked a U.S. appeals court to overturn his convictions and prison sentence of 10 years.

Patel has filed a motion before the US Court of Appeals, arguing there were errors in the jury instructions and in the sentencing enhancements applied during his 2024 trial. Representing himself, Patel also described the government’s arguments as “replete with logical fallacies and internal contradictions.”

The filing seeks to have Patel’s convictions vacated or certain counts reversed, along with a request for resentencing.

The appeal follows a similar move last month by Patel’s co-accused, Florida resident Steve Shand, who also sought to overturn his conviction and sentence. In April 2025, a judge rejected earlier requests from the defense seeking acquittals or new trials, ruling that the evidence presented during the trial was sufficient.

Patel and Shand were convicted in November 2024 in federal court in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on four counts related to smuggling unauthorized migrants into the United States and transporting them for profit. The jury returned guilty verdicts in less than 90 minutes.

The case stemmed from the deaths of four members of an Indian family who froze to death while attempting to cross the border during a blizzard in 2022.

Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishali Patel, 37, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi Patel, and three-year-old son Dharmik Patel were found frozen to death near the border.