Six charged in scheme to net immigration visas by faking robberies

Six people, including a Woodridge resident, are facing federal immigration fraud charges after authorities accused them of faking violent armed robberies throughout the suburbs.

Prosecutors said two suspects, Parth Nayi, 26, of Woodridge, and Kewon Young, 31, of Mansfield, Ohio, organized and participated in the staged armed robberies at restaurants, coffee shops, liquor stores and gas stations in Chicago and suburbs including Lombard, Elmwood Park, St. Charles, Hickory Hills, River Grove, Lake Villa and South Holland.

The other four charged in the indictment paid thousands to Nayi to act as victims in these robberies so that they could apply for special immigration visas “set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in an investigation or prosecution,” court papers stated.

The others charged are Bhikhabhai Patel, 51, of Elizbaethtown, Kentucky; Nilesh Patel, 32, of Jackson, Tennessee; Ravinaben Patel, 28, of Racine, Wisconsin and Rajnikumar Patel, 32, of Jacksonville, Florida.

All six are charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and face a five-year prison sentence. Ravinaben Patel faces an additional charge of making a false statement on a visa application, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.