FBI Busts Massachusetts Convenience Store Clerks for ‘Staged Armed Robberies’ to Apply for Immigration Benefits
Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, March 13, 2026
A group of local convenience store owners have been busted by the FBI for an alleged scheme to stage armed robberies so they could apply for immigration benefits.
The 11 Indian nationals across the country — seven in Massachusetts — have been charged in connection with a conspiracy to “carry out staged armed robberies of convenience stores” so the store clerks could falsely claim they were crime victims on immigration applications, the FBI announced Friday.
In 2023, Rambhai Patel and his co-conspirators allegedly set up and carried out staged armed robberies of at least six convenience/liquor stores and fast food restaurants in Massachusetts and more elsewhere.
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According to the feds, the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks to falsely claim they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigration status (U Visa).
A U Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
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The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud can lead to a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
