Lafayette, LA, July 18, 2025: An Indian American businessman and several Louisiana law enforcement officials have been indicted in a sweeping federal investigation into a scheme that allegedly used fabricated armed robbery reports to help individuals fraudulently obtain special visas reserved for crime victims.
Chandrakant “Lala” Patel, a naturalized U.S. citizen and businessman based in Louisiana, is accused of paying bribes to multiple police departments in small towns across central Louisiana—including Oakdale, Forest Hill, and Glenmora—to create false police reports. These reports claimed that various individuals, most of whom shared the Patel surname, had been victims of armed robberies. In reality, officials say, the crimes never occurred.
Federal prosecutors allege the fake reports were part of a long-running conspiracy to fraudulently secure U-visas, a special immigration benefit granted to noncitizens who are victims of certain crimes and who cooperate with law enforcement…