An Illinois resident was sentenced last week to only two years in jail after being convicted of staging hundreds of armed robberies. His sole purpose in committing these crimes was to secure work permits and deportation protection for fake victims. Not only is this not the first time someone has been convicted of staging crimes to abuse the U visa program, but the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has found that the entire program is riddled with fraud, contains no fraud protections, and is completely ineffectual at helping to solve crimes.
In 2022, Parth Nayi began organizing and participating in staged armed robberies at gas stations, liquor stores, and restaurants in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. The scam worked like this: An illegal immigrant would come to Nayi and pay him between $5,000 and $30,000 to obtain a work permit and protection from deportation through the U visa program.
