An alleged organizer has been sentenced to federal prison, while several others face charges in Illinois over a far-reaching scheme prosecutors say manipulated the federal immigration system. The operation allegedly staged violent robberies so noncitizens could claim eligibility for U visas, which are intended for crime victims who cooperate with law enforcement.
Parth Nayi, an Illinois resident, was sentenced Thursday to two years behind bars after prosecutors accused him of helping arrange hundreds of fake armed robberies at restaurants, small businesses and other locations in the Chicago area. He also allegedly coached people who pretended to be victims on how to seek U visas in return for payments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Saqib Mohammad Hussain described Nayi as the scheme’s central figure in a sentencing memorandum, writing that he organized or participated in nearly all of the staged robberies. Hussain said Nayi seriously undermined the federal U visa program, which was created to assist foreign nationals who are victims of serious crimes in the United States.
According to prosecutors, thousands of people who falsely presented themselves as crime victims paid Nayi to join the operation.
The alleged co-conspirators Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel and Rajnikumar Patel reportedly contacted Nayi about portraying victims in fabricated robberies. The goal, prosecutors said, was to create the documentation needed to apply for U visas, established by a 2000 law to protect trafficking victims and battered immigrant women.
Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., the lead sponsor of the anti-trafficking legislation that established the U visa, condemned the alleged exploitation of the program.
“Anyone who engages in visa fraud or falsifies claims to obtain any government benefit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and if guilty, jailed,” Smith told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
“It is especially egregious to abuse a program designed to help victims of human trafficking — often women and children — who are cooperating with police and are working to recover from their extraordinary trauma. We must hold abusive criminals accountable.”
Prosecutors said Nayi and another suspect, Kewon Young, recruited people to act as armed “robbers.” In some cases, the alleged attackers reportedly struck the people portraying victims to make the staged crimes appear authentic.
Nayi and Young are accused of arranging and taking part in fake robberies at stores, neighborhood businesses and bodegas.
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Once the staged incidents were over, the supposed victims were allegedly instructed to submit I-918 supplements to police. Those documents were intended to support law-enforcement certifications stating that the applicants had been victims of qualifying violent crimes.
The applicants then submitted Form I-918 to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, seeking the protected immigration status available through the U visa program.
Prosecutors said participants paid Nayi as much as $30,000 for their roles in the fabricated robberies. The alleged crimes also carried real-world danger: during one incident, an employee was critically wounded by a gunshot fired by one of the purported assailants.
CWB Chicago reported that a July 2023 staged robbery at a Chicago liquor store went wrong when one alleged participant accidentally fired a weapon, critically injuring an employee. The group then escaped in a stolen vehicle, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital contacted Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker seeking comment.
Johnson has frequently criticized federal immigration enforcement, especially during the Trump administration, at one point comparing its approach to an America in which the “Confederacy won” the Civil War.
Prosecutors allege that Bhikhabhai Patel pretended to be a robbery victim at a Chicago Dunkin’ in 2023 and later submitted a fraudulent U visa application.
Ravinaben Patel allegedly played the victim at another Dunkin’ location and filed a false report with police describing the supposed crime.
The 2024 indictment lists more than a dozen locations allegedly connected to the scheme. They included sites beyond Illinois, such as a Subway restaurant in Louisiana and a truck stop in Middle Tennessee.
The Justice Department indictment says five people in addition to Nayi have been convicted, although it does not identify them by name.
Fox News Digital reached out to USCIS, DHS, and ICE for comment.