Five Louisiana men, including four law enforcement officers and a Subway owner, are facing federal charges for a 10-year visa fraud scheme in several central Louisiana parishes.
Federal prosecutors announced the charges and details of the complex scheme during a press conference on Wednesday, July 16, after a federal grand jury in the Western District of Louisiana returned an indictment for conspiracy and fraud charges.
Businessman Chandrakant “Lala” Patel, 39, allegedly orchestrated the scheme and collected money from foreign nationals. He then bribed law enforcement officers across multiple Louisiana jurisdictions to create phony crime reports, which allowed the immigrants to apply for U visas, according to the indictment and a news release from the Department of Justice.
Federal agents arrested the men on Tuesday, and two of the police chiefs were arrested while they were attending a statewide law enforcement conference in Baton Rouge, The Town Talk reported.
Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle and Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon were arrested at the conference.
Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook said the case is being investigated and prosecuted by the Homeland Security Task Force as part of Operation Take Back America.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fraud detection officers uncovered a pattern of inconsistencies among U visa applications, sparking a multi-agency federal investigation, according to a USCIS news release.
Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood and the Sheriff’s Office helped break the case, after Patel allegedly offered an agent $5,000 to generate a false police report, Van Hook said.
The alleged conspiracy ran from December 2015 until July 2025. The officers concocted bogus armed robberies and wrote false police reports naming the aliens as victims of alleged armed robberies, according to the indictment.
“There was an unusual concentration of armed robberies — a large number of people that were not from Louisiana in some of our smaller communities,” Van Hook said at a press conference in Lafayette, Louisiana, per ABC News, adding, “In fact, the armed robberies never took place.”
The 62-count indictment, handed down July 2, includes allegations of conspiracy, bribery, mail fraud, immigration fraud, visa fraud and money laundering. Van Hook said there were “hundreds” of immigrants who successfully got visas through the scheme.
The amount of money “paid to the corrupt law enforcement agents was significant,” Van Hook added.
Patel of Oakdale faces the most charges, including conspiracy, bribery, 24 counts of mail fraud and eight counts of money laundering. Prosecutors identified him as the scheme’s central figure.
Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle and Ward 5 Marshal Michael “Freck” Slaney were each charged with conspiracy, six counts of visa fraud and six counts of mail fraud. Doyle faces one count of money laundering, while Slaney faces two.
Forest Hill Chief Glynn Dixon faces identical charges to Doyle, while former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea was charged with conspiracy, six counts of visa fraud and six counts of mail fraud.
Federal prosecutors say the five men orchestrated the decade-long scheme to exploit the U.S. immigration system for personal profit. The law enforcement officers authenticated false police reports in several central Louisiana parishes, according to the indictment, so that the victims could apply for U visas.
U visas are special non-immigrant visas reserved for victims or witnesses of serious crimes who assist law enforcement.
The police chiefs also provided certification and attestation of U visa I-918B supporting documents as representatives of their respective law enforcement agencies, according to the DOJ.
The U visa program allows both crime victims and their family members to remain in the U.S., making each false report’s impact far-reaching, ABC reported.
Per The Town Talk article, Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation special agent in charge, said the indictments “send a clear message: That whether you carry a badge or a business license, those who engage in criminal activities will be held accountable.”
Investigators also allege Patel did “corruptly give, offer, and agree to pay an agent of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office the sum of $5,000 on February 18, 2025, intending to influence and reward said agent in exchange for a fraudulent police report from the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office,” according to the news release.
Between Sept. 27, 2023, and Dec. 26, 2024, Doyle, Slaney, Dixon and Onishea are accused of “knowingly submitting false statements with respect to material facts in immigration applications by signing I-918B forms.” They certified that individuals were cooperating victims of crimes, even though the alleged crimes never happened.
The indictment seeks to recover money, real estate and vehicles allegedly bought by the defendants. All of the cases will be tried in Alexandria, Van Hook said, and he stressed those indicted are innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, the defendants each face up to 5 years for conspiracy, 10 years for visa fraud and 20 years for mail fraud. Patel faces an additional 10 years for the bribery charge. Each count also carries a possible fine of up to $250,000.
