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Speaker 1 (00:00):
… not only the victim of the crime or the witness of the crime to remain in the United States. It also allows their family members to remain in the United States. And so when you had an application. It could involve several people, so the money that was paid to the corrupt law enforcement agent was significant.
(00:18)
The indictment alleges that one such payment took place on February 18th, 2025. Specifically on that day, Mr. Patel corruptly paid or offered to pay an agent of the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office the sum of $5,000 to provide a fraudulent police report. We mentioned that one specific transaction because I want to note that at that point in the investigation, that Sheriff Wood from Rapides Parish and the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Department were assisting federal law enforcement in this investigation, and that fraudulent police report was never put to use. Also included in the indictment are money laundering charges and forfeiture allegations against the defendants in this case seeking a forfeiture of various bank accounts, vehicles, and real property that were purchased from the proceeds of the criminal activity.
(01:06)
Now, I'm sure that a lot of you will have some questions you'd like to ask. We'll try to address some of those, but at this stage, I want to remind everyone, this is just an indictment. We are constrained by the local rules here in the Western District and others to really try to only address the allegations that are set forth in the indictment, and we can't provide a lot of additional detail, but this was an important case and we wanted to let you know what all was going on yesterday. Moving forward after today, our comments on this case will be made in the courtroom until the case is concluded. I do want to stress to everyone that this is just an indictment. It's just what we say happened. It's an allegation. All of the defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless they're proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury at trial.
(01:56)
I do want to assure the public that we believe that they can have confidence in the law enforcement agencies and their communities. We brought these allegations against who we alleged to be corrupt officials, and we are not alleging that these are corrupt police departments.
(02:14)
Now, finally and probably most importantly, I really want to thank the dedicated men and women of law enforcement that took part in this investigation. An operation like this is complicated and it takes a lot of work, and a district like ours, we all have to work together, and we want to particularly thank our local law enforcement partners, the Louisiana State Police and the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Department. This investigation could not have been successful without their logistical and other support. This case, as I mentioned, was a joint investigation. The agents, some of whom are in this room with HSI, the FBI and IRS, have done a stellar job. This was a very complex investigation. It involved some sophisticated law enforcement techniques and it was really top-notch.
(03:00)
And finally, I want to recognize our two assistant United States attorneys on this case, John Nickel and Danny Siefker. They've worked hand in hand with the investigators since this investigation began, and they've been involved from the beginning and they've been fantastic. In short, all of us here, all of the law enforcement here in the United States Attorney's Office, we've committed our best and brightest to this case. It's an important case to this community and to this nation. We want our immigration laws to be followed, and it's an important case and we look forward to the next steps that will be taken in the courtroom.
(03:34)
So I'm going to allow some of our law enforcement partners to say a few words, and after that, we are glad to take some questions from you, and if any of you all, when the conference is over, the formal part of the press conference is over, would like to ask some of these guys some one-on-one questions, I'm sure they'd be glad to do that too.
Eric DeLon (03:56):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Sure.
Eric DeLon (03:57):
Good morning. My name is Eric DeLon. I'm the special agent in charge for HSI here in Louisiana. This case started for us over a year ago with some very diligent and hardworking HSI special agents here in Lafayette, Louisiana. They received a tip from Citizenship and Immigration Services, and they were concerned about visa fraud. Shortly thereafter, early on, my agents brought on the FBI and the IRS to continue to investigate, and they dug in, and with the help of the US attorney's office, they were able to field this case, this enormous case, this very impactful case.
(04:35)
We're very grateful to all of our state and local partners, especially Louisiana State Police. They've been an integral part in this whole operation, and yesterday, almost 200 law enforcement officers executed 11 search warrants throughout that AOR and numerous consent searches yielding evidence. They did a fantastic job without incident. Everything went off without incident. And we're really grateful for that.
(05:03)
What you see here now is what we're going to from this point forward refer to as the Homeland Security Task Force, co-led by HSI and FBI, and we'll continue to work together with our other federal partners and our state and local partners to do the best we can to keep Louisiana and the rest of our country safe and secure from those who would exploit the immigration system and commit other transnational crimes. Thank you.
Jonathan Tapp (05:32):
Thank you, SAC DeLon. Good morning. My name's Jonathan Tapp. I'm the special agent in charge of the FBI here out of our New Orleans field office. The FBI and the majority of our law enforcement community is privileged to work on behalf of true crime victims every day, but in this case, people paid thousands of dollars to manufacture that status to get a shortcut to the of staying in our great nation. Public Correction Investigations have maintained an important role for the FBI, and this case is no exception.
(06:07)
We expect law enforcement officers to protect the public and to honor their trust, not to sell that trust and the honor of their badges for personal gain. The FBI will continue to work diligently to uncover the actions of those who undermine the public's trust in the good work being done every day by the brave men and women of law enforcement. This case is just one example of the extraordinary work the FBI and our partners you see here today are carrying out across the state of Louisiana, and we will continue to do our jobs to protect the United States.
(06:43)
As SAC DeLon said, this is one of the first cases of the Homeland Security Task Force here in Louisiana, and we are proud to stand here with our partners and to demonstrate the strong partnership we have. We also appreciate the dedication and work of our partners at HSI, IRS, Louisiana State Police, the US Attorney's office for the Western District of Louisiana, and especially Sheriff Mark Wood and his great team at the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office. Thank you.
Demetrius Hardeman (07:19):
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Demetrius Hardeman, special agent in charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.
(07:28)
These unsealed indictments announced today send a clear message that whether you carry a badge or a business license, those who engage in criminal activities will be held accountable. In addition to the businessmen, four of the defendants are law enforcement officers who were entrusted to uphold the moral principles and values expected of those who carry a badge.
(07:51)
When a businessman becomes the architect of a criminal scheme and law enforcement officials help carry it out, public trust erodes at every level. Visa fraud poses significant risk to individuals, public safety and national security. False visas can facilitate illegal activities in the United States, including financial crime, crimes of violence, narcotics, human trafficking, etc.
(08:18)
IRS Criminal Investigation special agents along with our state and local partners will not allow financial crime and immigration fraud to be hidden under the cloak of legitimacy. With both law enforcement and financial investigation expertise, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are uniquely qualified to collaborate with our federal, state, and local partners with these types of cases by following the money. IRS Criminal Investigation special agents work diligently with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to hold both the business professional and the participatory law enforcement officials accountable. Rooting out public corruption remains one of IRS Criminal Investigations' highest priorities. Thank you.
Sheriff Mark Wood (09:09):
This is Sheriff Mark Wood. I just want to commend everybody on this, and I want to assure the public that 99.9% of law enforcement is good. There are occasional bad apples and this is what happens. So I want to commend everybody that's up here that worked on this, brought this to a close, and I'm sure it's going to go a little further. But I want to assure the public that we are held to a higher standard and we will see that that carries on. So with that said, we'll see where this thing ends up. Thank y'all.
Colonel Robert Hodges (09:51):
Good morning. I'm Colonel Robert Hodges, superintendent, Louisiana State Police. As you see today with the collaborative group behind us, in Louisiana, federal, state and local law enforcement work seamlessly together, and as I've said many times before, actions have consequences, and these individuals elected to break the law. And as already mentioned, how important it is and how privileged we all are to have United States citizenship. And due to the US attorney's office in the Western district here of Louisiana, as well as our federal partners from FBI, IRS, HSI, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office and Louisiana State Police, together, collectively, we're making sure that we earn the public's trust each and every day, and sometimes that involves law enforcement officials who make criminal and wrong decisions.
(10:47)
But moving forward, the task force that HSI DeLon spoke of is incredibly important, not only here in Louisiana, but across our country. We need to always remember that our duty and responsibility, both as law enforcement and as residents and visitors of this state, is to uphold the law, and lawlessness will not be unchecked and it will not be tolerated. We appreciate everyone here today, from the media supporting us and sending out the message that we need the public's help to continue these investigations, and those who commit wrongdoing, especially on such a high level of fraudulent visas and the ramifications, as the IRS SAC said of what it can lead to, the message is loud and clear. You will be held accountable. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
All right. If you guys have a few questions, we'll try to answer the ones we can. As I mentioned, we're a little constrained by not getting too many details of the case itself.
Reporter (11:54):
I have a question.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So, sure.
Reporter (11:55):
The people that you listed, are they the only ones who were arrested yesterday in this investigation?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yes, those were the only-
Reporter (11:58):
They're under arrest.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Those are the only ones that were arrested yesterday.
Reporter (12:01):
So nobody who is not on that list that you recited was arrested in this investigation?
Speaker 1 (12:05):
That's right. No one else was arrested yesterday,
Reporter (12:07):
Sir, who was arrested at the Crown Plaza Hotel specifically? And we were being told that there was heavy firearms involved. Were you expecting resistance?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
No, we weren't expecting resistance but we planned for contingencies, and I can let some of our law enforcement partners talk about some of those. But the arrest at the Crown Plaza yesterday was where the two people were, and this investigation, it was not time to arrest people at the Crown Plaza yesterday. As was mentioned, this case, it started in July of 2024 and it just came to its logical conclusion, and when we were ready to bring the charges, we decided we needed to bring the charges. And the operational plans to execute those arrest warrants and search warrants in connection with the case have been weeks and months in the making, and that's where two of the defendants were yesterday.
Reporter (13:00):
And was that Chad Doyle and Glenn Dixon?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Is that who it was? That's who it was.
Reporter (13:05):
Renee from [inaudible 00:13:05] News. Can you be clear about the charges? Is it just visa fraud or are we going beyond that?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
So we have brought visa fraud charges, we've brought mail fraud charges, so a lot of these forms that were put in the US Mail or other interstate carriers, we brought those charges as well. There's a bribery charge that I mentioned for the $5,000 payment to the person within Rapides Parish, and we brought money laundering charges. One of the things that we try to do in federal law enforcement is take the profit out of it and we'll use money laundering charges to do that. And 18, United States Code 1957 makes it a crime to use money that's criminal proceeds to purchase things like cars and houses and boats and luxury goods, and we can bring money laundering charges when that's done, when there's a financial transaction that exceeds $10,000, and we can seize those assets and liquidate them and return value to the tax payer.
Reporter (14:02):
Any repercussion for the immigrants?
Speaker 1 (14:04):
So our investigation's ongoing, and so we want to look to see what people knew and didn't know. Some people I think thought this may have been a legitimate path to getting where they needed to be, but some people may not have, and so we're continuing our work.
Reporter (14:21):
So the scene that was in Oakdale at the subway, was that Patel that was arrested at that time or was-
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I don't know if he was… Jonathan, so who was there at the subway? So the subway was just a location where we executed the search warrant. It was operated by Mr. Patel, and I can't really go into what was found there. As I said, that's one of the things we can't talk about, but the search warrants that were executed in connection with the arrest warrants, we had probable cause to believe that there was evidence of criminal activity in all of those places, and that's where the searches took place.
Reporter (14:49):
Can you give us any insight as to how that money was spent?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
We are going to pass out the indictment in a few minutes and it'll list some of the assets that we are alleging forfeiture for, and so that'll give you some insight. We've had some real estate that was purchased, some vehicles, and people spending their ill-gotten gains to live better.
Reporter (15:14):
Was any of those funds going towards the police officers or was it just personal funds that they were using? I know that you're going to pass them out in a little bit, but-
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, so no sweat. As I mentioned, the police officers were paid $5,000 per name, that's what we allege in the indictment, and there were hundreds of names. And this is a very, very significant case. It is not two or three people. There are hundreds of names, and we'll get into more of those as the case unwinds in court. So that adds up, the $5,000 per name adds up.
Reporter (15:47):
Of those hundreds of names, about how many visas do you think were approved through this scheme?
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Well, I don't want to get into specifics, but when I'm saying there's hundreds of names, those visas were approved. We focused on the ones that were approved.
Reporter (16:02):
And is this investigation complete or is it ongoing? It sounds like something that maybe Mr. Patel didn't come up with on his own. Maybe it's something that other people are doing.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Well, we're not going to speculate on that, but it's ongoing.
Reporter (16:16):
Can you touch back on that contingency plan? What would that look like?
Speaker 1 (16:19):
So I'll let Eric or Jonathan talk about that, if you want to.
Eric DeLon (16:26):
So a lot goes into planning a large scale operation like that. As the US attorney said, these indictments get handed down. We have people that are committing crimes actively so we want to stop it as quickly as we can once we have all the evidence we need to proceed with arrests and search warrants. Sometimes, people aren't where you expect them, so you make a plan, you make the best plan you can, but it has to stay fluid. So in this case, we had two of the chiefs that were in Baton Rouge at a conference, so we adapted to that plan. Those teams went there and affected the arrest without incident. All the arrest were affected without incident, all the searches affected without incident. This operation went off as cleanly and as peacefully as it possibly could have gone.
Reporter (17:09):
And so when did the tip come in again?
Eric DeLon (17:11):
In July of '24.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Any other questions? As I said, our law enforcement partners, if you guys have some one-on-one questions you want to do, they're here. The copies of the indictment are here, you can take a look at those. We'll hang out for a few minutes and if you have any follow-up you have after taking a look at the indictments, we're glad to talk to you.
Reporter (17:31):
Just one more for you, sir.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Sure.
Reporter (17:32):
Can you just explain again? So Mr. Patel was basically a conduit between the illegal immigrants trying to commit this fraud, he was running this operation, and then working with law enforcement to get those approved through the federal government?
Speaker 1 (17:45):
So, right. We believe that as set forth in the indictment, that Mr. Patel is the leader of this conspiracy. He is the one that would charge people to help them get visas, and part of what he received, he would pay for these false police reports in order to get the visas that we talked about.
Reporter (18:05):
And where are these individuals being held right now?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
So at this point, only Mr. Patel is being held. This is a case that's been brought in the Alexandria division, so the trials and the court proceedings will take place in the courthouse in Alexandria. Mr. Patel is being held. The other individuals were released by the court yesterday on conditions because the court made a determination that they did not pose a flight risk or a danger to the community going forward.
Reporter (18:31):
So are they on leave, these police chiefs?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Well, that's up to the state officials and their police departments. That's not something we try to control.
Reporter (18:41):
Do you know if these officers of these chiefs of police are elected?
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Some of them are. Yeah, they were. We were talking earlier today that there's a mix of elected and appointed police chiefs in Louisiana, and there's a lot of elected.
Reporter (18:55):
Until they're convicted, they don't have to go on leave.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Well, that's them. As I said, I won't-
Reporter (19:02):
I guess what I'm saying is there are elected officials on here too.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Sure, they're elected police chiefs and some of them are former police chiefs that lost their elections, their reelections, and they maintain a role in law enforcement in other capacities, and so some of this is historical. But the United States Attorney's Office and the FBI and HSI and IRS, we're not going to try to decide who's the police chief somewhere. That's somebody else to do. That's above our pay grade or our directive that we were given to the department. Anything else? Anybody? All right. Thanks so much for coming. We appreciate your time. Yep.
