Two Men Sentenced in Immigration Cases

BUFFALO, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Hareshkumar Patel, 44, of Tonawanda, NY, and Pankajkumar Patel, 41, of Geneva, NY, who were convicted of immigration charges, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara to time served and one year supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Moellering and John E. Rogowski, who handled the case, stated that Hareshkumar Patel and Pankajkumar Patel, both aliens, submitted false statements in immigration matters in September of 2008 and August of 2010 respectively. The defendants filed petitions for a non-immigrant worker with Citizenship and Immigration Services and forged the signature of other individuals.

The sentencings are the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Office James C. Spero.