Fake Robbery, U Visa Scheme Ends With Indian Clerk’s Deportation

India-West News Desk

COLUMBIA, SC –  A South Carolina convenience store owner has pleaded guilty to helping stage a fake robbery so an Indian store clerk could appear to be a crime victim and seek a U visa, but the clerk was later deported to India, the Justice Department said.

Birenkumar Rameshbhai Patel, 47, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally obtain a U visa, which can provide qualifying crime victims with a path to lawful permanent residency and, eventually, U.S. citizenship.

Federal prosecutors said Patel and the clerk staged the robbery at Patel’s Fairfield County convenience store on March 9, 2025. Patel covered his face, wore a long-sleeved jacket and acted as though he were robbing the clerk. A 911 call was made, and the clerk was taken to a hospital after responding officers arrived.

Investigators later determined that the robbery had been staged to create evidence that the clerk was a crime victim and support his effort to obtain a U visa.

The clerk had entered the United States illegally on September 18, 2024, and was already in deportation proceedings when the staged robbery took place. His immigration hearing was scheduled for March 13, four days later. He was ultimately deported to India.

The Justice Department did not identify the clerk by name and said he was identified in court records only as “C1.” The government also did not say whether he was separately charged or convicted.