Store Robbery Exposed As Green Card Scheme. Clerk Deported to India
A naturalized U.S. citizen pleaded guilty to staging a robbery to help an Indian clerk seek a U visa and a path to a green card.
In a South Carolina convenience store, owner Birenkumar Rameshbhai Patel, 47, of Columbia, has admitted to staging a robbery to trick an Indian clerk into appearing as a crime victim. The clerk, referred to as C1, was deported to India following the scheme. The scheme aimed to help the clerk obtain a U visa, a pathway to permanent residency and potentially U.S. citizenship.
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina announced the guilty plea of Patel on September 24, with a sentencing date awaiting a report from the U.S. Probation Office.
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