A Worcester man pleaded guilty to taking part in an elaborate scheme in which armed robberies were staged at convenience stores and other businesses so participants could falsely portray themselves as crime victims when seeking immigration benefits.
Mitul Patel, 40, an Indian national living unlawfully in Worcester, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for July 29 before U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Patel paid to participate as a purported victim in an October 2023 staged armed robbery at a Worcester store. He was among 11 people charged in March in connection with a broader scheme that prosecutors say involved at least six businesses in Massachusetts and elsewhere.
Federal prosecutors allege the robberies were orchestrated to create the appearance that store clerks and owners had been victims of violent crimes, allowing them to use those incidents to support applications for U nonimmigrant status, commonly known as a U Visa.
The immigration status is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered physical or mental abuse and have assisted law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
The scheme began in March 2023, according to federal charging documents. Prosecutors allege organizer Rambhai Patel and others arranged robberies at convenience and liquor stores and fast-food restaurants, creating surveillance footage that appeared to document violent crimes.
During the staged encounters, a person posing as the robber would threaten clerks or store owners with what appeared to be a firearm, take cash from the register and flee, according to the announcement. Those posing as victims would then wait five minutes or longer before calling police and reporting the robbery.
Prosecutors allege the participants paid Rambhai Patel to arrange their roles as victims. He, in turn, allegedly paid business owners for the use of their stores in the staged crimes.
Mitul Patel admitted paying Rambhai Patel to participate as a victim in the Worcester robbery, according to federal prosecutors.
Rambhai Patel, along with the man prosecutors identified as the robber and getaway driver Balwinder Singh, were previously charged and convicted in May 2025.
Mitul Patel faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. He is also subject to deportation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across several states, including Massachusetts State Police, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office and the Worcester Police Department.
