{
  "id": 10676009,
  "title": "Store Robbery Exposed As Green Card Scheme. Clerk Deported to India",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/store-robbery-exposed-as-green-card-scheme-clerk-deported-to-india",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-29T11:10:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/store-robbery-exposed-green-card-scheme-clerk-deported-india-12499600"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}