Six men have been charged with staging armed robberies across Chicago and its suburbs in order to fake crimes for victims to apply for special U.S. immigration visas reserved for crime victims. The two men accused of organizing these staged robberies were identified as Parth Nayi and Kewon Young. The alleged scams took place at various locations including restaurants, coffee shops, liquor stores, and gas stations in multiple cities. In one incident, a clerk was shot at Bucktown Food & Liquor in Chicago, but survived the encounter. The purported victims were identified as Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel, and Rajnikumar Patel, who allegedly paid Nayi thousands of dollars to stage the crimes for U-visa applications.
The U-visas, created in 2000, are reserved for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are assisting law enforcement in an investigation or prosecution. These visas allow victims to obtain temporary legal status for three years, during which they can often obtain green cards. The visas were designed to prevent illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes from being deported after reporting a crime or before a criminal trial. The six men involved in the staged robberies are facing charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, with Ravinaben Patel additionally charged with making a false statement in a visa application.
The alleged staged robberies happened at various locations in Chicago and its suburbs, as well as restaurants in Louisiana and Tennessee. The two men who organized and carried out the robberies, Nayi and Young, are facing charges for their involvement in the scheme. The victims involved in the scams paid Nayi thousands of dollars to stage the crimes in order to apply for U-visas, a special type of visa reserved for crime victims. The incident at Bucktown Food & Liquor in Chicago nearly turned deadly when a clerk was shot during the staged robbery, highlighting the dangerous nature of the scheme.
The prosecutors have identified the purported victims of the staged robberies as Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel, and Rajnikumar Patel. These individuals allegedly paid Nayi to stage the crimes so that they could submit applications for U nonimmigrant status, which allows victims of certain crimes to move to the front of the line to obtain temporary legal status. The defendants are facing charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, with Ravinaben Patel also charged with making a false statement in a visa application. The U-visas created in 2000 are aimed at protecting victims of crimes who are assisting law enforcement in investigations or prosecutions.
The six men involved in the staged robberies are facing charges related to conspiracy to commit visa fraud. These charges stem from their alleged involvement in organizing and carrying out the robberies in order to help victims apply for U-visas. The victims paid Nayi thousands of dollars to stage the crimes so that they could submit applications for U nonimmigrant status, which allows victims to obtain temporary legal status for three years. The visas were created in 2000 to protect crime victims who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are assisting law enforcement in investigations or prosecutions, ensuring that they are not deported after reporting a crime or before a trial.
