A US grand jury has indicted 10 Indian nationals over an alleged scheme involving staged robberies at convenience stores to support fraudulent immigration claims, a statement issued on the US Justice Department’s website has said. 

 

The statement noted that the suspects had earlier been charged through a criminal complaint in March 2026. It added that a federal grand jury in Boston has now formally charged them with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

 

Authorities stated that all 10 individuals were previously released on conditions after the initial complaint. 

 

Among the accused, Rameshbhai Patel and Ronakkumar Patel have since been taken into immigration custody.

 

“The defendants are subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. This case stems from an investigation into Rambhai Patel, the organiser of the scheme, and getaway driver Balwinder Singh – both of whom were charged in December 2023 and later convicted in May 2025,” the statement read.

 

Referring to earlier charging documents from March 2023, the statement said, “Rambhai Patel and his co-conspirators set up and carried out staged armed robberies of at least six convenience/ liquor stores and fast food restaurants in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

 

It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks present to falsely claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigration status (U Visa)”.

 

The statement explained that a U Visa was available to individuals who had suffered mental or physical abuse due to certain crimes and had assisted law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting such cases.

“In the course of the alleged staged robberies, the ’robber’ would allegedly threaten store clerks and/ or owners with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video”.

 

“The clerks and/ or owners would then wait five or more minutes until the alleged ‘robber’ had escaped before calling police to report the ‘crime’. 

The ‘victims’ are alleged to have paid Rambhai Patel to participate in the scheme. In turn, Rambhai Patel paid the store owners for the use of their stores for the staged robbery,” the statement read.

 

According to the statement, the 10 individuals indicted by the Boston jury on Thursday are accused of either coordinating with Rambhai Patel to arrange the robberies or paying to be included as ‘victims’ for themselves or family members.

 

“The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Additionally, the defendants are subject to deportation after any sentence is imposed,” the statement said.