伊利诺伊州一名“主谋”已被判刑，另有数名嫌疑人被起诉，他们涉嫌参与一起范围广泛的阴谋，通过帮助非公民申请专为协助执法部门的犯罪受害者保留的签证保护，欺诈联邦移民系统。
A "ringleader" has been sentenced and several other suspects charged in Illinois in connection with a widespread conspiracy to defraud the federal immigration system by helping noncitizens seek visa protections reserved for crime victims who assist law enforcement.
伊利诺伊州的帕尔特·纳伊周四被判处两年联邦监禁，罪名是参与在芝加哥及其周边小型商铺和餐馆制造数百起假持械抢劫，并帮助“指导”所谓的“受害者”完成申请U签证的计划，以换取现金。
Parth Nayi of Illinois was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison for participating in hundreds of staged armed robberies at small businesses and eateries in and around Chicago and helping "coach" the supposed " victims" through plans to apply for U visas in exchange for cash.
助理联邦检察官萨基布·穆罕默德·侯赛因在案件的量刑备忘录中写道：“[纳伊]是主要组织者，几乎是所实施的数百起假抢劫中每一件的核心人物。被告严重败坏了联邦U签证项目，该项目旨在为特别弱势的群体——在美国期间成为严重犯罪受害者的外国公民——提供福利。”检方称，数千人冒充犯罪受害者，付钱给纳伊以参与该阴谋。
"[Nayi] was the main organizer and at the center of almost every single one of the hundreds of staged robberies that were perpetrated. [The] defendant significantly corrupted the federal U-Visa program, designed to provide a benefit to a particularly vulnerable group—foreign nationals who are victims of serious crimes while visiting the United States," Assistant U.S. Attorney Saqib Mohammad Hussain wrote in the case’s sentencing memo TRUMP ADMIN’S FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETS FOREIGNERS ACCUSED OF INFILTRATING US FEDERAL PROGRAMS Thousands of people posing as crime victims paid Nayi to participate in the scheme, prosecutors said. Alleged co-conspirators Bhikhabhai Patel, Nilesh Patel, Ravinaben Patel and Rajnikumar Patel reached out to Nayi to pose as victims of the staged robberies so they could apply for U visas, which were created under a 2000 law meant to protect trafficking victims and "battered immigrant women."
据称的同谋比卡拜·帕特尔、尼莱什·帕特尔、拉维纳本·帕特尔和拉杰尼库马尔·帕特尔联系纳伊，冒充假抢劫的受害者，以便申请U签证。U签证依据2000年一项旨在保护人口贩运受害者和“受虐待移民女性”的法律设立。创建U签证的反人口贩运立法的主要发起人、新泽西州共和党众议员克里斯托弗·史密斯对据称滥用该项目的行为表示愤怒。
Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., lead sponsor of the anti-trafficking legislation that created the U visa, expressed outrage over the alleged abuse of the program. "Anyone who engages in visa fraud or falsifies claims to obtain any government benefit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and if guilty, jailed," Smith told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "It is especially egregious to abuse a program designed to help victims of human trafficking — often women and children — who are cooperating with police and are working to recover from their extraordinary trauma.
史密斯周二对福克斯新闻数字频道表示：“任何从事签证欺诈或伪造声明以获取任何政府福利的人，都应受到法律最严厉的起诉，如果罪名成立，应予以监禁。”
We must hold abusive criminals accountable."
“滥用一个旨在帮助人口贩运受害者（通常是妇女和儿童）的计划，这些受害者正在与警方合作，并努力从极度创伤中恢复，这种行为尤为恶劣。我们必须让滥用该计划的罪犯承担责任。”
Prosecutors said Nayi and another suspect, Kewon Young, recruited people to serve as armed "robbers" who at times "struck purported victims to make the staged robbery appear real."
检察官称，Nayi 和另一名嫌疑人 Kewon Young 招募人员充当武装“抢劫犯”，后者有时会“殴打所谓的受害者，以使摆拍的抢劫看起来真实”。Nayi 和涉嫌共谋者 Kewon Young 组织并参与了针对商店和小杂货店的摆拍抢劫。
Nayi and alleged co-conspirator Kewon Young organized and participated in staged robberies of shops and bodegas. After the "robberies," the purported victims would be coached to submit I-918 supplements to law enforcement so authorities could certify that they had been victims of a violent crime and could seek U visas.
“抢劫”发生后，所谓的受害者会被指导向执法部门提交 I-918 补充表格，以便当局证明他们曾是暴力犯罪的受害者，从而可以申请 U 签证。
An I-918 form would then be submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) seeking protected legal status in the United States.
随后，I-918 表格会被提交给美国公民及移民服务局（USCIS），申请在美国获得受保护的合法身份。
Purported victims paid Nayi as much as $30,000 to take part in the staged robberies, prosecutors said.
检察官称，所谓的受害者支付给 Nayi 高达 30,000 美元以参与摆拍抢劫。在一次抢劫中，一名店员被一名涉嫌袭击者开枪击中，伤势严重。
During one robbery, a store employee was critically injured by a gunshot fired by one of the alleged assailants. During a July 2023 "robbery" at a Chicago liquor store one of the alleged assailants accidentally discharged his weapon and "critically" injured an employee, according to CWB Chicago.
据 CWB Chicago 报道，2023 年 7 月，在芝加哥一家酒类商店发生的一起“抢劫”中，一名涉嫌袭击者意外走火，“严重”击伤一名员工。据该媒体报道，作案者随后驾驶一辆被盗车辆逃离现场。
The perpetrators then fled in a stolen vehicle, according to the outlet. Fox News Digital reached out to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov.
Fox News Digital 就此事联系了芝加哥市长 Brandon Johnson 和伊利诺伊州州长 JB Pritzker 置评。
JB Pritzker for comment.
Johnson 多次猛烈抨击联邦移民执法，特别是在特朗普政府时期，将其行动比作一个仿佛“邦联赢了”内战的美国。
Johnson has repeatedly lambasted federal immigration enforcement particularly under the Trump administration, likening its actions to an America that appears as if the "Confederacy won" the Civil War.
据称，Bhikhabhai Patel 于 2023 年在芝加哥一家 Dunkin' 门店冒充受害者，随后提交了欺诈性的 U 签证申请。
Bhikhabhai Patel allegedly posed as a victim at a Chicago Dunkin' in 2023 before filing a fraudulent U visa application.
据称，Ravinaben Patel 在第二家 Dunkin' 门店冒充受害者，并就该事件提交了虚假警方报告。
Ravinaben Patel allegedly posed as a victim at a second Dunkin' and filed a false police report about the incident.
2024年的起诉书列出了该计划中使用过的十多处地点，包括伊利诺伊州以外的商家，例如路易斯安那州的一家赛百味和中部田纳西州的一个卡车停靠站。
The 2024 indictment identified more than a dozen locations used in the scheme, including businesses outside Illinois, such as a Subway in Louisiana and a truck stop in Middle Tennessee.
司法部的起诉书显示，除纳伊外，另有五人已被定罪，但未具体说明他们的姓名。
The DOJ’s indictment indicates five others besides Nayi have been convicted but does not specify their names.
福克斯新闻数字频道已联系美国公民及移民服务局、国土安全部和移民及海关执法局请求置评。
Fox News Digital reached out to USCIS, DHS and ICE for comment.