BOSTON – An Indian national unlawfully residing in Worcester, Mass., was sentenced July 29, 2026, in federal court in Boston in connection with a conspiracy to conduct staged armed robberies of convenience stores for the purpose of allowing store clerks to falsely claim they were crime victims on immigration applications.
Mitul Patel, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to time served (one day) in prison and a $1,000 fine. The defendant was also ordered removed from the United States.
The defendant was charged by criminal complaint in March 2026 and pleaded guilty in June 2026. Ten others involved in the scheme, were charged in the same criminal complaint. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations and the remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, the Justice Department press release said.
According to the charging documents, beginning in March 2023, 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). A U Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
ADVERTISEMENT
During the staged robberies, the “robber” would allegedly threaten store clerks with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video. The clerks would then wait five or more minutes until the “robber” had escaped before calling police to report the “crime.” The “victims” are alleged to have each 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 organizer Rambhai Patel, the “robber,” and the getaway driver Balwinder Singh were previously charged and later convicted in May 2025. Mitul Patel, sentenced July 29, 2026, paid Rambhai Patel so that he could participate as a “victim” in a staged armed robbery of a store in Worcester, Mass. in October 2023.