Federal prosecutors have indicted five people in Louisiana, including three current and former police chiefs, in an alleged scheme to file bogus police reports that enabled immigrants to apply for special visas in exchange for thousands of dollars.
According to the 62-count indictment, the defendants falsified police reports, which listed immigrants as victims of fabricated crimes so they could apply for U-visas.
The U nonimmigrant status, or U-visa, allows people who have been the victims of crimes to obtain temporary legal status in the U.S. The visa is "set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity."
All five defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and mail fraud. Some also face charges of money laundering, visa fraud and bribery, according to court documents.
The accused are Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Ward 5 Marshal Michael "Freck" Slaney, Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, and Tebo Onishea, a former police chief for the city of Glenmora. Louisiana businessman Chandrakant "Lala" Patel is also a defendant.
According to prosecutors, Patel worked as an intermediary between immigrants seeking U-Visas and his four law enforcement partners in the scheme.
Prosecutors said that after Patel was contacted by potential clients, he would put a call out to Doyle, Slaney, Dixon or Onishea to put together a fake police report stating that the client had been the victim of an armed robbery, which allowed them to apply for a U-Visa.
Prosecutors allege that Patel would pay his accused co-conspirators $5,000 for the name of each immigrant included in the false reports.
Patel himself attained a U-Visa in 2023 "based on his alleged status as a victim of armed robbery," according to the indictment.
Gerald Block, an attorney for Slaney, declined to comment on the charges against his client.
Onishea's lawyer, Lester Gauthier, Jr., said that he had only recently joined Onishea's legal defense and that his client had been released on bond.
"I know little about the case at this time," Gauthier said in an email to NPR.
Attorneys for Doyle and Dixon did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not immediately clear if Patel had legal representation.
Federal prosecutors say the scheme ran between December 2015 and earlier this week.
If convicted, the defendants face years or decades in prison, as well as substantial fines.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said additional state charges were likely.
"We are now reviewing the evidence and expect additional state charges will follow," she wrote in a statement on Facebook.
"Public officials - especially those in law enforcement - who conspire to commit fraud and obstruct justice violate the public trust and undermine faith in justice. They will be held accountable."
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