New Delhi, May 21 -- A 37-year-old Indian national living in the United States has pleaded guilty to staging armed robberies at retail stores across several American states to help individuals fraudulently obtain US immigration benefits.

Rambhai Patel, a resident of New York, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday before US District Judge Myong J Joun in Boston to one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Sentencing has been scheduled for August 20, news agency PTI reported.

According to US federal prosecutors, Patel and a co-conspirator carried out at least nine staged robberies at convenience stores and restaurants-five of them in Massachusetts-beginning in March 2023.

The purpose was to fabricate violent crime scenarios so that store ...