CHICAGO — A Florida man remained at large this week after allegedly ditching his own criminal trial in Chicago, where he had been facing a federal jury for his role in a brazen scheme to stage armed robberies across the city and suburbs to qualify for U.S. immigration visas reserved for crime victims.

U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland issued an arrest warrant for Rajnikumar Patel, 34, on Wednesday after he failed to show up for the third day of trial at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, court records show. His lawyer reported to the court that he’d not heard from Patel and no one was home when authorities conducted a well-being check at his most recent residence in Rockford.

Law enforcement was later able to use license plate readers and surveillance cameras to track Patel’s white Toyota Camry with vanity plates traveling south through Indiana, Tennessee, and Alabama, on Tuesday after court had ended for the day, records show.

Meanwhile, at the request of prosecutors, Rowland allowed the trial to continue before the jury in Patel’s absence. The jury heard closing arguments Friday before swiftly convicting him on a count of making a false statement in a visa application, records show.

Rowland set sentencing for Nov. 30. The charge carries a maximum of 10 years behind bars.

Patel’s lawyer, Michael Nash, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Patel was one of six people accused in a 2024 indictment with conspiring to pay actors to play “robbers” and set up the phony crimes at locations like Subway restaurants, Dunkin’ donut shops, liquor stores, gas stations and a smoothie shack.

The goal was to be able to apply for U nonimmigrant status, also known as a “U-visa,” which is set aside under an anti-trafficking law enacted in 2000 for crime victims who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful in an investigation or prosecution.

During the staged robberies, the purported robbers brandished what appeared to be real guns and, in some instances, struck the phony “victims” to make the crimes appear real, according to prosecutors. The robberies were then reported to local police.

Afterwards, some of the victims, including Patel, submitted forms to obtain certification “that they were victims of a qualifying crime and had been or would be helpful in the investigation,” according to prosecutors.

According to evidence presented at Patel’s trial, he had agreed to be one of two “victims” in a fake robbery of a Dunkin’ donut shop in South Holland on Feb. 8, 2023.

Before the scheme was executed, Patel met with the leader of the conspiracy, Parth Nayi, and others at a gas station in nearby Hickory Hills to go over the details, the evidence showed.

Nayi, who pleaded guilty in January, told the group that there would be three fake robbers and that the phony victims should not put any identification or personal items in their wallets, which would be taken by force to make the robbery look real, according to the prosecution’s trial evidence.

Patel, meanwhile, told Nayi that he wanted to be “roughed up” to make the fake robbery look more legitimate, and asked him to instruct the robbers to punch him to the floor, prosecutors said.

Video from the Dunkin’ donut shop that night, which was played for jurors last week, showed Patel sitting at a table in the store when three people dressed in all black and holding what appeared to be firearms walk in.

One of the “robbers” heads right to Patel and knocks him off his chair before rifling through his pockets. Another “victim” at a different table falls to his knees and puts his hands over his head.

Prosecutors said Nayi, of Woodridge, had paid off the manager of the store for use in the staged robbery.

In May 2024, Patel, an Indian national, submitted a form through an immigration attorney to the South Holland Police Department stating he had “suffered substantial mental injury due to the crime,” according to trial evidence.

Later that year, Patel submitted an application for a U Visa attesting to his “terrifying” ordeal.

“As I sat there innocently, two to three individuals brandishing guns suddenly entered the vicinity, filling the air with a menacing auro,” Patel wrote. “Fear clenched my heart as the offenders ruthlessly seized both my hard-earned money and other valuable possessions. The inescapable clutches of anxiety and helplessness took hold, leaving an indelible mark on my psyche.”

At the time he submitted that sworn statement, Patel was already under indictment and had been placed on pretrial release, records show.

Nayi, 28, who testified at Patel’s trial without the defendant present, is set to be sentenced on Sept. 2.

Another leader of the conspiracy, Kewon Young, 31, of Mansfield, Ohio, also has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Three others have already been sentenced to terms ranging from probation to time served.

____

©2026 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.