NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Boston, MA, August 29, 2025: What looked like a string of armed robberies across convenience stores, liquor shops, and fast-food restaurants in New York and Massachusetts turned out to be the business model of an unusual racket run by an Indian-origin man.
Rambhai Patel, 37, was sentenced last week to 20 months and eight days in federal prison for orchestrating at least 18 staged robberies between March 2023 and early 2024, designed to help clients fraudulently obtain U-visas meant for real victims of crimes. He will also forfeit nearly $850,000 and faces deportation after completing his sentence and two years of supervised release.
According to federal prosecutors, Patel ran an underground operation that offered “robbery packages” to immigrants willing to pay thousands of dollars to pose as victims. The arrangement often included hiring accomplices to act as armed robbers—brandishing firearms—while cameras rolled and victims feigned terror. Patel compensated some store owners for the use of their premises, turning legitimate businesses into crime sets.
In one case, a purported victim paid $20,000 to Patel’s network to participate in a staged incident. At least two individuals successfully applied for U-visas using fabricated police reports generated from these fake robberies.
The U-visa program, established by Congress in 2000, is designed to provide temporary legal status to victims of serious crimes who assist law enforcement. Patel’s scheme, prosecutors said, undermined the intent of the program by flooding it with false claims.
Patel’s co-conspirator, Balwinder Singh, who helped carry out the fake heists, also pleaded guilty earlier this year. Singh is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24.
Investigators said the operation was sprawling, with staged crimes taking place not only in Massachusetts and New York but also in other states. The multi-agency probe included the FBI, USCIS, and several local police departments.
Judge Allison Burroughs, who handed down the sentence in Massachusetts federal court, said Patel’s conduct exploited both vulnerable immigrants and the integrity of U.S. immigration law.
