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Nileshkumar Patel, Smuggling, New Jersey 2017
NEWARK, N.J. – In a shocking case of human trafficking, two men have pleaded guilty to smuggling foreign nationals into the United States for financial gain, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Nileshkumar Patel, 42, and Harsad Mehta, 68, both of India, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to separate superseding informations charging them each with one count of conspiracy to smuggle foreign nationals into the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Patel and Mehta admitted that from June 2013 through October 2015, they conspired to make money by recruiting Indian nationals to enter and reside in the United States illegally.
The pair also admitted to paying an individual – who was actually an undercover officer – to transport the foreign nationals from Thailand into Newark on July 24, 2014.
The conspiracy count carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 16, 2017.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola in Newark, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Navarro of the U.S Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark.
Defense counsel for Patel is Michael P. Koribanics Esq., of Clifton, New Jersey, while Mehta is represented by Mark A. Berman Esq., of River Edge, New Jersey.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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