Fake Robbery for U-Visa Fraud Leaves Real Clerk Shot

A staged robbery meant to help a group of people fraudulently qualify for U-visas ended with a real victim shot in the gut, according to federal prosecutors in Chicago who say the scheme ran for years before it fell apart.

Key points

• The scheme: Parth Nayi allegedly recruited fake "robbery victims," paid store owners to use their businesses, and hired people to act as robbers so participants could claim to be crime victims eligible for U-visas, charging each person $5,000 to $30,000.
• The process: After the staged crime, "victims" got police certification as crime victims and cooperators, then used that paperwork to file U-visa applications with USCIS.
• The shooting: On July 13, 2023, a staged robbery at Bucktown Food & Liquor on North Milwaukee Avenue went wrong when one of the armed "robbers" accidentally fired, critically wounding a 26-year-old employee who wasn't part of the scheme.
• The getaway: The crew fled in a Kia that had been reported stolen earlier that same day in Humboldt Park, according to police.
• The timeline: Bearing Arms notes the scheme dates back to 2022, meaning it began under the Biden administration, not as a reaction to current deportation efforts.

Quick take

Bearing Arms argues this is fraud stacked on fraud, since real bystanders ended up in the crossfire of a crime that was never supposed to be a crime at all. A staged robbery with live firearms and real ammunition was always one twitchy trigger finger away from putting someone in a hospital, and that's exactly what happened. The outlet's position is blunt: everyone involved, regardless of where they were born, deserves prison time and, where applicable, deportation.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com