US: 10 Indians indicted for alleged visa fraud conspiracy

Ten Indian citizens have been indicted by a United States jury in Boston for conspiring to stage armed robberies at convenience stores so that store clerks there could falsely claim to be victims of crime and apply for visas.

They had been charged in March after a criminal complaint had been filed against them.

At the time, US prosecutors alleged that as part of the conspiracy, the store clerks were to claim that they were victims of violent crime on their applications for U non-immigration visas. The visas are meant for victims of crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and who have been helpful to law enforcement.

According to the charging documents, an Indian man named Rambhai Patel and his co-conspirators had in March 2023 staged armed robberies in at least six convenience stores and fast food restaurants in Massachusetts, as well as more such incidents elsewhere. Rambhai Patel was in August held guilty by a court in Boston and sentenced to 20 months and eight days in prison.

Eleven others were charged on March 13 for either helping to stage the robberies, or to pay for themselves or a family member to take part in the conspiracy as a purported victim.

On Thursday, a press release from the US Attorney’s Office...

Read more