A series of unrelated federal prosecutions in the US has brought some individuals from Gujarat under scrutiny, with investigators uncovering one network accused of engineering fabricated robberies for immigration benefits and another involving a student who moved illicit funds in a large-scale fraud targeting elderly Americans.
Together, the cases describe two separate operations in which immigrants from the state became entangled in schemes that drew the attention of federal courts and enforcement agencies across different parts of the country.
According to a report by a national newspaper, at least 25 illegal immigrants from Gujarat have been named in a US federal case for allegedly staging fake robberies to obtain U-visas, a special immigration relief meant for victims of crimes in the US.
For the unversed, the U non-immigrant visa (U visa) was created by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, 2000. It is designed to help non-U.S. nationals who are victims of certain crimes and are willing to assist law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting those crimes.
The case, registered in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Alexandria Division, began in February 2025 with the arrest of Chandrakant Patel, a Mehsana native settled in Louisiana, whose phone records allegedly exposed a wider conspiracy involving other Gujaratis.
Patel, who owned convenience stores and a restaurant in Oakdale, Louisiana, was earlier granted a U-Visa in 2023 after claiming to have been robbed. Investigators later found that the robbery never happened, the report revealed.
The probe by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police departments revealed that Patel had allegedly paid bribes to police officials for creating fake incident reports certifying immigrants as victims of robberies.
Court documents allege that Patel, along with Louisiana police officers Chad Doyle, Michael Slaney, Glynn Dixon, and Tebo Onishea, conspired to fabricate robbery reports across central Louisiana. In exchange, the officers received $5,000 each per person.
These fake victims, mostly non-Louisiana residents from Gujarat, later submitted their applications to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for U-visas, falsely claiming they had been attacked or robbed.
The investigation began in late 2023 and expanded over several months as ICE traced the money trail and communication between Patel and the alleged co-conspirators. The US grand jury has charged them under Title 18 of the US Code, Sections 1546(a) and 666(a)(2) for visa fraud and bribery. Sources privy to the development said that a 25-year-old man from North Gujarat was considered the mastermind apart from Chandrakant Patel, that he lived in Chicago, and that he had entered the US illegally in 2019.
The US authorities are now investigating how many others may have entered or legalised their stay through similar fraudulent means.
Even youth are drawn into it…
In a separate case, a 21-year-old Gujarati student was sentenced to 97 months in a US federal prison for laundering proceeds of a sweeping elder fraud scheme that cheated victims out of cash and gold worth more than $2.5 million. A federal court in Austin, Texas, also ordered him to pay $2,515,780 in restitution, according to the US attorney’s office for the Western District of Texas.
The man, who was in the US on a student visa, worked as a courier for the syndicate. According to court filings, the group targeted elderly Americans through carefully scripted phishing calls.
Conspirators posed as officers from the US treasury department, law enforcement agencies, or corporate fraud departments. They would tell victims that their identities were stolen, that fake bank accounts were opened in their names, or that they were under investigation for money laundering.
Victims were then coerced into withdrawing large sums of cash or handing over gold to government agents who would arrive at their homes or meet them in parking lots.
Another case of deception
In one instance, a resident of Granite Shoals was convinced that drug cartels used his identity and, fearing prosecution, handed over $180,000 (Rs 1.6 crore approx) in three instalments to couriers linked to the suspect. In another case, an elderly woman in Fort Worth withdrew $30,000 (Rs 26.6 lakh approx) after being told her social security number was compromised.
The modus operandi, investigators said, was simple but devastating: cold calls, false urgency, fabricated threats of arrest, followed by quick pickups by mules to move the proceeds. Court documents show the courier alone defrauded at least 25 individuals, with an intended loss of $2.7 million (Rs 23.9 crore approximately). The man admitted that he received a 2% commission on the fraud proceeds.
These cases yet again highlight the desperation among Indians to find avenues in the US even if it means getting off-side with the law and risking their own lives. Gujaratis and Punjabis have been notable offenders on this count.
Gujarat, Punjab under scanner
There has been a 70% drop in Indians attempting to illegally enter the US between January and May 2025. However, 10,382 Indian nationals, primarily from Gujarat, were reportedly arrested during this period for seeking to enter the US. The list included 30 unaccompanied minors.
Earlier, in March, it emerged that nearly half of the Indians deported from the US in five commercial flights originating from Panama between February 20 and March 2 were from Punjab.
Out of 55 illegal immigrants sent back on these flights, 27 (49%) were from Punjab, 22 (40%) from Haryana, 3 (5%) from Uttar Pradesh, 2 (4%) from Gujarat, and 1 (2%) from Rajasthan. In all, 388 illegal immigrants from India have been deported since Donald Trump assumed the US presidency, including 333 on military aircraft, with 153 (40%) belonging to Punjab.
A British media outlet, attributing data to the US, reported that most Indian asylum seekers there are Punjabi and Gujarati. These are groups from India’s wealthier states, and are able to afford high migration costs.
And so, despite the rising consequences of illegal migration to the US, nothing seems to have changed. The unscrupulous networks stay active and the fallout is widespread.
Also Read: Illegal Immigration: US Acts Against Indian Facilitators https://www.vibesofindia.com/illegal-immigration-us-acts-against-indian-facilitators/
