Indian National Pleads Guilty In Fake Robbery Visa Fraud Scheme

India-West News Desk

BOSTON, MA – An Indian national living unlawfully in Massachusetts has pleaded guilty to taking part in a visa fraud scheme in which fake armed robberies were staged so participants could falsely claim to be crime victims and seek U.S. immigration benefits.

Mitul Patel, 40, of Worcester, pleaded guilty in federal court on June 24 to conspiracy to commit visa fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29.

According to federal prosecutors, Patel paid the organizer of the scheme so he could pose as the victim of a staged armed robbery at a convenience store in Worcester in October 2023.

Prosecutors said the scheme began in 2023 and involved staging armed robberies at convenience stores, liquor stores and fast-food restaurants in Massachusetts and other states.

Investigators said a participant pretending to be a robber would enter a store, threaten workers with what appeared to be a gun, take cash from the register and leave. The store employees would then wait several minutes before calling police so the robbery appeared real.

Authorities said the fake victims later used police reports and other evidence from the staged robberies to support applications for U Visas, which are available to certain victims of serious crimes who assist law enforcement.

According to prosecutors, participants paid the organizer, Rambhai Patel, to arrange the fake robberies, while store owners were also paid to allow their businesses to be used.

The organizer, the man who acted as the robber and the getaway driver were convicted in May 2025.

Patel faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Federal prosecutors said he is also subject to deportation after serving any sentence imposed by the court.

The case was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and several other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.