Granite Shoals arrest ends in federal money laundering conviction
Kishan Rajeshkumar Patel
A 20-year-old Indian national who was arrested in Granite Shoals in 2024 in an FBI-led fraud investigation was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a media release issued Wednesday, June 18, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas.
Court documents say Kishan Rajeshkumar Patel, co-defendant Dhruv Rajeshbhai Mangukiya, and others defrauded elderly victims, including at least one Granite Shoals resident, out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold between July and August 2024.
Patel, who was living in the United States on a student visa, was arrrested by the Granite Shoals Police Department on Aug. 24, 2024, after retrieving a box represented to contain $130,000 from a victim’s home, the release said. He was transferred into federal custody on Aug. 29, 2024, and pleaded guilty to the money laundering charge on March 18 of this year.
His sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman.
Federal prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Henneke,
say the co-conspirators defrauded their victims using online phishing methods and by impersonating U.S. government officials. Patel received the stolen cash and gold, gave a portion to his co-conspirators, and kept a percentage for himself, the Attorney’s Office release said.
To date, the federal investigation has determined the illegal scheme defrauded at least 25 victims with a total intended loss of at least $2,694,156.
“This defendant (Patel) took advantage of his visa status in our country and participated in an international fraud scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas in the media release. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to prosecuting the perpetrators of such nefarious schemes and achieving justice for the victims.”
Mangukiya, Patel’s co-defendent, pleaded guilty on June 16 and awaits his sentence hearing.
“The FBI is deeply committed to protecting the American people from the devastating effects of financial fraud. We prioritize and aggressively pursue those who prey on our elderly population,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp of the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office. “We want to thank our colleagues at the Granite Shoals Police Department for their professionalism and dedication to the citizens they serve.”
3 thoughts on “Granite Shoals arrest ends in federal money laundering conviction”
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63 months? Doesn’t seem like a tough enough sentence. The people he stole from will never see restitution. I hope on the 63rd month ICE is there to give him a ride home….no not in America, back to where he came from
He’s probably one of the ones that put a card reader on the HEB gas pump in Marble.
Deport him. Why do we have to support him now in our prison system.