7 other Indian-origin individuals were indicted.
Two Indian Americans, Tarunkumar Purushottambhai Patel, 50, of Missouri and Sachin Patel, 33, of Mississippi, have pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and police report fraud, along with other individuals. Seven other Indian-origin individuals were indicted too in May this year, of the immigration related crimes.
In May, according to the 16 count U-Visa Fraud indictment, it was alleged that Law Enforcement Certification forms purporting to certify that aliens were victims of certain crimes, were submitted to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) along with the U-Visa applications.
To be eligible for a U-Visa, the alien must have (1) been a victim of a certain crime; (2) suffered mental or physical abuse as a result of the crime; and (3) helped law enforcement officials in the investigation and/or prosecution of the crime. The Law Enforcement Certification forms contain the description of the crimes. In this case, the forms fraudulently listed individuals as victims of certain crimes in an effort to obtain U-Visas.
The Indictment alleges that Simpson Lloyd Goodman, a licensed attorney, submitted fraudulent documents to USCIS for the purpose of obtaining U-Visas for other co-defendants. The false documents submitted to USCIS included falsified police reports allegedly prepared by Officer Ivory Lee Harris of the Jackson Police Department. Other defendants engaged in and caused various acts which enabled defendants to attempt to obtain U-Visas from USCIS, according to the Justice Department.
The following defendants were charged in the U-Visa fraud indictment for their roles in a conspiracy to commit fraud and misuse of Visa permits:
Sachin Girishkumar Patel, 33, of Clinton, Mississippi; Tarunkumar Purushottambhai Patel, 49, of Kingdom City, Missouri; Simpson Lloyd Goodman, 29, of Waynesboro, Georgia; Ivory Lee Harris, 45, of Jackson, Mississippi; Sanjay Rathilal Patel, 35, of Lakewood, New Jersey; Maheshkumar Mangaldas Patel, 50, of Houston, Texas; Ashaben Mukeshbhai Patel, 38, of Covington, Louisiana; Rajan Nareshkumar Patel, 31, currently incarcerated in Adams County, Mississippi; Gopaldas Khodabhai Patel, 55, of Byram, Mississippi; Sachin Khodidas Patel, 27, of Byram, Mississippi; and Baldevbhai Ramabhai Patel, 34, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
In the 16 count marriage fraud indictment, it is alleged that the aliens would enter into marriages between persons who were already citizens of the United States solely for the purpose of obtaining immigration status to which the aliens would not otherwise be entitled. These marriages were not entered into because of mutual love and affection between the parties, but solely to create a legal status that would provide a basis for immigration status for the alien partner and usually for some economic benefit to the United States citizen.
The following defendants were charged in the marriage fraud indictment for their roles in a conspiracy to commit marriage fraud:
Sachin Girishkumar Patel, 33, of Clinton, Mississippi; Tarunkumar Purushottambhai Patel, 49, of Kingdom City, Missouri; Simpson Lloyd Goodman, 29, of Waynesboro, Georgia; Chirag Nilesh Patel, 27, of St. Louis, Missouri; Dana Cheetara Adams, 29, of Plano, Texas; Brandy Nicole Edwards, 34, of Crystal Springs, Mississippi; Terilynn Rankin, 48, of Mendenhall, Mississippi; Sejal Sanjay Kakadia, 52, of Covington, Louisiana; Jayantibhai Kalidas Chaudhari, 47, of Covington, Louisiana; Virendra Rambachan Rajput, 45, of Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Javona Shanice Rajput, 27, of Jackson, Mississippi.
The maximum penalties for the crimes charged in the indictments are: conspiracy to commit fraud and misuse of visa permits – 5 years in prison and $250,000 fine per count; fraud and misuse of Visa permits – 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count; mail fraud – 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count; and wire fraud – 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.