Rambhai Patel Faces Deportation For Manipulating U-Visa, Staging Fake Robberies
India-West Staff Reporter
BOSTON, MA – Rambhai Patel, a 37-year-old Indian national living in New York, has been sentenced to prison for orchestrating a scheme that exploited U visas through staged armed robberies across the United States.
Patel, who pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, was sentenced to 20 months and eight days in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. He must also forfeit $850,000 and faces deportation upon completion of his sentence.
The investigation, launched in March 2023, uncovered that Patel and his co-conspirator, Balwinder Singh, staged more than 18 fake armed robberies, including at least five in Massachusetts. The goal was to manipulate the U visa program, which is intended to protect victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and assisted law enforcement.
In the scheme, store clerks and owners posed as victims of violent crimes, while Patel and others acted as the robbers. “Victims” waited several minutes before reporting the crimes to authorities, creating a false narrative of cooperation with law enforcement. Patel was paid by participants to orchestrate the events, with one alleged victim paying $20,000. He, in turn, paid the store owners for the use of their locations, ultimately generating roughly $850,000 in illicit profits.
At least two individuals submitted U visa applications based on their involvement in the staged robberies, directly abusing a system designed to protect genuine crime victims. Balwinder Singh, charged alongside Patel in December 2023, also pleaded guilty in May 2025 and is scheduled for sentencing on September 24, 2025.
The investigation involved cooperation from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the FBI’s New York and Seattle Field Offices, and multiple state and local police departments. Authorities emphasized that the case represents a serious exploitation of the U visa program, undermining its purpose of assisting legitimate victims of crime.
