Chicago Man Sentenced for Immigration Fraud Scheme
A resident of Chicago, who was found guilty of orchestrating an immigration fraud scheme, has received a two-year prison sentence. This scheme involved staging numerous fake armed robberies to help migrants obtain legal visas through police reports.
Parth Nayi, 29, was implicated in organizing these fraudulent robberies between 2022 and 2024, targeting small restaurants, convenience stores, and gas stations in Chicago and its suburbs. Prosecutors have stated that many of these crimes were designed to create opportunities for migrants to claim victim status in order to apply for U-visas by collaborating with law enforcement.
The U-visa program, established by Congress in 2000, was aimed at assisting police in solving crimes within migrant communities, who often hesitated to cooperate due to fears of deportation. Nayi specifically recruited illegal migrants, primarily from Latin and South America, to pose as robbery victims, with participants paying him significant sums—potentially up to $10,000—to take part in the scheme.
Generally, these impersonated robberies were well-planned, often involving store employees. In most instances, no one was hurt. However, one incident in 2023 saw a fake robber accidentally discharge his firearm, injuring a store clerk in the stomach, from which the clerk ultimately recovered.
Nayi was apprehended as prosecutors identified 17 specific incidents of these staged robberies he coordinated. Following his arrest, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Recently, U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland sentenced him to two years in federal prison and imposed a $50,000 fine. Additionally, five accomplices were also convicted in connection with this fraudulent visa ring.
Federal investigations related to similar schemes have been initiated in several states, including Massachusetts, Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. Notably, some of these migrants are linked to extended Patel families residing in the U.S. who have faced connections to various criminal activities.
In March, for instance, investigators discovered that Rambhai Patel had orchestrated the fake robberies in Massachusetts, involving clerks at local businesses. These clerks would actively participate in the scam by handing over money to the faux robbers, then contacting police only after granting time for the accomplices to flee. They would subsequently report fabricated accounts of violent crime, offering false testimonies as witnesses to facilitate police investigations.
A study conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies revealed that over 416,000 petitions had been submitted by migrants, with many receiving approvals for the associated benefits despite not genuinely assisting law enforcement, even though the program supposedly has a cap of 10,000 applications per year.
