US court orders Indian man removed over staged robbery visa fraud

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 30, 2026 11:44 IST

A US federal court has sentenced an Indian national to one day in prison, imposed a USD 1,000 fine and ordered his removal from the country after he pleaded guilty to visa fraud linked to staged armed robberies.

Mitul Patel, 40, of Worcester, Massachusetts, was sentenced by a US District Court judge in Boston on Wednesday in connection with a conspiracy in which armed robberies were allegedly staged so that store clerks could falsely claim they were crime victims in immigration applications. Patel pleaded guilty in June 2026 along with 10 others involved in the scheme.

According to charging documents, beginning in March 2023, Rambhai Patel and his co-conspirators set up and carried out staged armed robberies at at least six convenience and liquor stores and fast-food restaurants in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Investigators alleged that the purpose of these robberies was to allow clerks present during the incidents to falsely claim they were victims of a violent crime while applying for U non-immigration status, or a U Visa.

Mitul Patel paid Rambhai Patel to take part as a victim in a staged armed robbery at a store in Worcester in October 2023. A U Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.

During the staged robberies, the robber would allegedly threaten store clerks with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the entire interaction was recorded on store surveillance cameras. The clerks would then wait five minutes or more until the robber had escaped before calling the police to report the incident. Investigators have alleged that each of the victims paid Rambhai Patel to take part in the scheme, and that he in turn paid store owners for the use of their premises for the staged robberies.

The organiser, Rambhai Patel, the robber and the getaway driver, Balwinder Singh, had previously been charged and were later convicted in May 2025. The case centres on a scheme in which staged robberies were used to support false claims in U Visa applications, leading to Mitul Patel being sentenced, fined and ordered removed from the US.

With PTI Inputs

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