Two men are being forced for forfeit nearly $500,000 after officials claim they were staging fake armed robberies in a visa fraud scheme.
In 2023, Rambhai Patel and Balwinder Singh were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.
Patel and his co-conspirators, including Singh, staged armed robberies at about eight liquor stores and fast food restaurants across the United States, including at least four in Massachusetts, starting in March 2023. The Massachusetts stores were located in Worcester, Hingham, Weymouth and Marshfield.
The “robber” would wait until the store was empty before going inside. Once given the all clear by the employees inside, they’d threaten store clerks or owners with what appeared to be a firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, court documents state. The guns were fake and the money taken was sometimes only about $200, court documents state. The interaction would be captured on store surveillance video. But the clerks or owners would wait at least five minutes until the “robber” had escaped before calling police to report the “crime.”
Officials believe the “victims” each paid Patel $10,000 to participate in the scheme. In turn, Patel paid the store owners about $1,500 for the use of their stores for the staged robbery, officials said.
The staged robberies allowed the clerks present to claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U nonimmigration status (U Visa), according to officials. A U Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have been mentally or physically abused and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
Patel entered a plea agreement in May. As part of the terms of the plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit any items claimed during the investigation.
Officials filed a forfeiture notice of $485,626.01 on Aug. 21. The money had been taken from various locations within a residence in Farmingdale, New York.
Other items being forfeited include miscellaneous gold and silver bars, nine one-ounce gold bars seized from a safe deposit box at Bank of America in New York and miscellaneous jewelry.
Anyone, other than the defendants in this case, claiming interest in the forfeited property must file an ancillary petition within 60 days.
Patel was sentenced to time served and 2 years of supervised release.
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