ISLAMABAD: A federal grand jury in Boston has indicted ten Indian nationals on charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud in a shocking scheme involving staged armed robberies.

The plot aimed to help store clerks falsely claim victim status for U-visa applications.

U-visas provide immigration relief to crime victims who assist law enforcement.

This indictment marks the latest development in a case first charged by complaint in March 2026.

The ten defendants are all Indian nationals unlawfully residing in the United States.

They include Jitendrakumar Patel aged 39 from Marshfield Massachusetts.

Maheshkumar Patel 36 from Randolph Massachusetts follows in the list.

Sanjaykumar Patel 45 from Quincy Massachusetts is among those charged.

Dipikaben Patel 40 was deported after living in Weymouth Massachusetts.

Rameshbhai Patel 52 resides unlawfully in Eubank Kentucky.

Amitabahen Patel 43 from Plainville Massachusetts is also indicted.

Ronakkumar Patel 28 from Maryland Heights Missouri faces the charges.

Sangitaben Patel 36 from Randolph Massachusetts completes part of the group.

Minkesh Patel 42 and Sonal Patel 42 both from Perrysburg Ohio round out the ten.

According to court documents the scheme involved staging at least six armed robberies at convenience stores in Massachusetts during March 2023.

Locations included Hingham Weymouth Randolph Marshfield and Worcester.

In each incident a masked robber threatened the clerk with a gun took cash and fled.

The clerks waited five minutes before calling police to simulate a real crime.

Surveillance cameras captured the events providing fabricated evidence for visa claims.

Participants allegedly paid up to ten thousand dollars to organizer Rambhai Patel.

Rambhai Patel who pleaded guilty in a related case earlier paid store owners up to two thousand dollars each.

The broader conspiracy extended to at least eighteen stores across the United States.

This case exposes vulnerabilities in the U-visa program which is capped at ten thousand approvals per year.

USCIS data shows pending U-visa petitions exceeding three hundred thousand cases as of recent fiscal years.

Median wait times surpass six years with some applicants facing nearly twenty years.

Approval rates stand at approximately eighty four percent for principal petitioners.

Fraud risks including staged crimes have prompted USCIS inspector general warnings.

The FBI Boston Violent Crimes Task Force led the investigation into this network.

Two defendants Rameshbhai Patel and Ronakkumar Patel are now in immigration custody.

All others remain subject to deportation proceedings following any sentencing.

Each faces up to five years in prison three years supervised release and a two hundred fifty thousand dollar fine.

Indian media including The Times of India have covered the story extensively.

The development underscores growing scrutiny on immigration fraud among South Asian communities in America.

Such cases highlight the challenges facing legitimate victims seeking U-visa protections.

US authorities stress that the program aims to aid genuine crime victims.

This audacious conspiracy however threatens to undermine public confidence in the system.

With over two hundred sixty six thousand petitions filed from 2017 to 2025 the backlog continues to mount.

The indictment serves as a stern warning against exploiting immigration pathways through deception.

Federal prosecutors vow to pursue justice to safeguard the integrity of US visa programs.