Indian citizen Manish Patel had entered US via Canada in January 2017 after tampering the information on his passport. He will be sentenced on August 16, 2017.
An Indian national Manish Patel, 43, has pleaded guilty on Monday, April 3, of entering the United States illegally in early morning hours of January 20, 2017. Patel was announced guilty by the court of US Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.
“As part of his guilty plea, Patel admitted to presenting a forged Indian passport to Border Patrol agents in the early-morning hours of January 20, 2017. Patel used the forged passport –which was in another person’s name, but bore Patel’s photograph – to fly from India to Toronto, by way of London, prior to illegally entering the United States,” according to the Department of Justice’s news statement.
Apparently, Patel did not present himself for inspection when he entered the United States in January. Upon investigation, US Border Patrol agents found that Patel was also wanted for multiple felony charges including attempted homicide of an unborn child. According to a news statement by US Customs and Border Protection officers in January, the vehicle that entered the US was occupied by the driver alone. However, after few hours inside the US, the officers saw another passenger that made them suspicious of a potential alien smuggling attempt.
Patel faces a maximum imprisonment of 10 years and three years of post-imprisonment supervised release. The court may also fine him with $250,000. He will be sentenced on August 16, 2017 at 11.30 a.m. Generally, judges do not announce maximum punishment for the culprits. “A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors,” the Justice Department’s statement read.
The case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Cyrus PW Rieck.