Ringleader Sentenced in US Staged-Robbery U Visa Fraud That Helped Thousands Pose as Crime Victims

Parth Nayi of Illinois has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for organising hundreds of staged armed robberies designed to defraud the US immigration system. According to the Department of Justice, the scheme helped noncitizens pose as crime victims so they could apply for U visas in exchange for cash.

Prosecutors said Nayi organised the staged robberies at small businesses and eateries in and around Chicago and coached the supposed victims through plans to apply for U visas.

In the case's sentencing memo, Assistant US Attorney Saqib Mohammad Hussain wrote that Nayi was the main organiser and at the centre of almost every one of the hundreds of staged robberies. He wrote that the defendant significantly corrupted the federal U visa programme, designed to benefit a particularly vulnerable group — foreign nationals who are victims of serious crimes while visiting the United States.

Prosecutors said thousands of people posing as crime victims paid Nayi to take part in the scheme. Purported victims paid as much as $30,000 to participate in a staged robbery.

Alleged co-conspirators Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel and Rajnikumar Patel allegedly reached out to Nayi to pose as victims so they could apply for U visas. The U visa was created under a 2000 law meant to protect trafficking victims and battered immigrant women.

Representative Christopher Smith, the lead sponsor of the anti-trafficking legislation that created the U visa, expressed outrage over the alleged abuse. He said anyone who engages in visa fraud or falsifies claims to obtain a government benefit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and, if guilty, jailed. He said it is especially egregious to abuse a programme designed to help victims of human trafficking, often women and children cooperating with police.

Prosecutors said Nayi and another suspect, Kewon Young, recruited people to serve as armed robbers who at times struck purported victims to make the staged robbery appear real.

After the robberies, the purported victims were coached to submit I-918 supplements to law enforcement so authorities could certify that they had been victims of a violent crime and could seek U visas. An I-918 form would then be submitted to US Citizenship and Immigration Services seeking protected legal status.

During one robbery, a store employee was critically injured by a gunshot fired by one of the alleged assailants. According to the account cited in the report, during a July 2023 robbery at a Chicago liquor store, one alleged assailant accidentally discharged his weapon and critically injured an employee, after which the perpetrators fled in a stolen vehicle.

The 2024 indictment identified more than a dozen locations used in the scheme, including businesses outside Illinois, such as a Subway in Louisiana and a truck stop in Middle Tennessee.

The DOJ indictment indicates five others besides Nayi have been convicted, but does not specify their names.