Federal Crime and Courts

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have charged 11 Indian nationals with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, alleging they staged armed robberies at convenience stores and restaurants so participants could falsely claim to be crime victims when applying for U visas. According to charging documents, the scheme began around March 2023 and involved at least six convenience, liquor and fast‑food locations in Massachusetts, with additional incidents in other states, using scripted robberies where a purported gunman threatened clerks with what appeared to be a firearm, took cash on camera, and fled. Authorities say clerks or owners then waited five minutes or more before calling police to make the incidents appear genuine and paid an organizer to arrange their role as supposed victims, while the organizer paid store owners for use of their businesses. Six defendants were arrested in Massachusetts and released after initial court appearances in Boston, others were arrested in Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio and will be brought to Boston, and one defendant has already been deported to India. The case highlights both the existence of the U‑visa program, designed to protect and incentivize cooperation from real crime victims, and the kind of organized fraud federal agents say they are increasingly targeting in the immigration system.