Six Accused of Arranging Fake Robberies Across Chicago to Qualify for Crime Victim Visas

Six people have been charged with arranging a series of armed robberies across Chicago and its surrounding suburbs to enable the victims of these alleged false crimes to qualify for special U.S. immigration visas reserved for crime victims, federal authorities announced Friday.

The two individuals suspected of orchestrating and carrying out the staged robberies were identified as Parth Nayi, 26, of Woodridge, Illinois, and Kewon Young, 31, of Mansfield, Ohio, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

The alleged scams took place at restaurants, coffee shops, liquor stores, and gas stations in Chicago and its suburbs, including Lombard, Elmwood Park, St. Charles, Hickory Hills, River Grove, Lake Villa, and South Holland, as well as restaurants in Rayne, Louisiana, and Belvidere, Tennessee, according to authorities.

Prosecutors say one of the incidences took place in July 2023 at Bucktown Food & Liquor in Chicago. The subterfuge, however, nearly proved fatal when the clerk was shot. The clerk survived the encounter. The alleged victims were identified as Bhikhabhai Patel, 51, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Nilesh Patel, 32, of Jackson, Tennessee; Ravinaben Patel, 23, of Racine, Wisconsin; and Rajkumar Patel, 32, of Jacksonville, Florida. Prosecutors claimed that the four men paid Nayi thousands of dollars to fake the crimes so that they could apply for nonimmigrant status, sometimes known as U-visas.

These visas are reserved for victims of specific crimes who have experienced mental or physical abuse and are supporting law enforcement in an investigation or prosecution. It permits victims to go to the front of the line to receive temporary legal status for three years, during which time they are frequently granted green cards.

The visas were established in 2000 to prevent illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes from being deported after reporting the crime or before a criminal trial. All six individuals have been charged with conspiracy to conduct visa fraud. Ravinaben Patel was also charged with one count of making false statements in a visa application.