Federal authorities charged three current and former Louisiana police chiefs with taking money in exchange for filing false police reports, allowing illegal immigrants to seek a visa that will enable crime victims to stay in the United States and prevent them from being deported.
The false police report would indicate that the illegal immigrant was a victim of a crime, letting them qualify for a U visa, according to U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook at a news conference in Lafayette on Wednesday.
An FBI investigation found that Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, and former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea were filing fake crime reports.
Oakdale City Marshal Michael Slaney and Oakdale businessman Chandrakant Patel were also charged in the alleged scheme.
A grand jury charged the five men this week with crimes, including conspiracy to commit visa fraud, visa fraud, bribery, mail fraud, and money laundering, Van Hook said.
According to the indictments, immigrants seeking U visas would allegedly contact Patel, who assisted them in being named as “victims” in armed robbery reports. Patel allegedly got the chiefs to write the false reports and provide certification and supporting documents and paid the chiefs in return.
There had been “an unusual concentration of armed robberies of people who were not from Louisiana,” Van Hook said. “In fact, the armed robberies never took place.”
The officials were allegedly paid $5,000 for each name they provided police reports for. The three chiefs wrote hundreds of reports, according to attorneys.
Authorities claim that this scheme had continued for as long as a decade and was stopped last month.
In 2000, Congress created the U visa to help victims “who have suffered mental or physical abuse” and are “helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
A U visa can help some crime victims and their families achieve a path to U.S. citizenship. From Sept. 30, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022, 10,000 people received this kind of visa, according to Department of Homeland Security data.
“These visas are designed to help law enforcement and prosecutors prosecute crimes where you need the victim or the witness there,” Van Hook said. “U visas serve a valuable purpose, and this is a case where they were abused.”
If convicted, each person will face a sentence of up to five years on conspiracy charges, up to 10 years on visa fraud charges, and up to 20 years on mail fraud charges. Patel faces up to 10 years on his additional bribery charge. The group could also be fined up to $250,000 on each count. Federal authorities have already seized some of their personal property, including bank accounts and vehicles.
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Deportation has been a major part of the Trump administration’s agenda. It has long backed efforts to cut U visa protections to ensure there is no misuse.
The Louisiana visa investigation was led by Trump’s Homeland Security Task Force, which the administration created to strengthen immigration enforcement.