Latest news with #policechiefs
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Washington Post
Louisiana police chiefs accused of visa fraud over false crime reports
Federal prosecutors have indicted five people in Louisiana — three current or former police chiefs, a marshal and a business owner — for conspiracy to commit visa fraud over the alleged filing of false police reports that would allow immigrants to apply for a visa intended for crime victims.
New York Times
16-07-2025
- New York Times
Louisiana Police Chiefs Accused of Fabricating Robberies in Immigrant Visa Scheme
The police reports, signed by law enforcement officials in otherwise quiet and small Central Louisiana towns, described a rash of armed robberies. The crimes had targeted people with no ties to the region, all of them immigrants struggling to find a toehold in the country. But according to federal investigators, the reports were full of lies. 'In fact, the armed robberies never took place,' Alexander C. Van Hook, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, told reporters on Wednesday. Mr. Van Hook and other federal officials said that they had exposed a scheme to exploit a program that offers undocumented immigrants who are victims of crime a path to temporary legal residency and citizenship. A federal grand jury has indicted current and former police chiefs in three communities, another local law enforcement official and a Louisiana businessman whom prosecutors described as the architect of the scheme. Prosecutors said that the chiefs would produce false reports documenting armed robberies. Listed as victims were undocumented immigrants, who the prosecutors said had paid a middle man. They were trying to take advantage of the federal U-visa program, which was created in 2000 and is available to undocumented immigrants who are victims of certain violent crimes. To qualify, applicants have to cooperate with law enforcement officials by helping with investigations and serving as witnesses. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Yahoo
Louisiana police chiefs among those arrested and accused in a bribery scheme to help foreign nationals get visas
A group of current or former Louisiana police chiefs and the operator of a Subway sandwich shop are accused of colluding in a decade-long scheme to falsify police reports to help foreign nationals get visas meant for crime victims or witnesses. A federal grand jury returned a 62-count indictment charging two police chiefs, a former police chief, a marshal and the restaurant operator on charges including bribery, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and immigration fraud, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday. The scheme focused on getting U visas, which allow foreign nationals without any official status in the US to stay in the country in certain circumstances when they're victims of or witnesses to crimes, acting US Attorney Alexander Van Hook of the Western District of Louisiana said. U visas are important in helping law enforcement solve cases, Van Hook said. But the US limits the number of U visas that can be issued, and fraudulent applications can prevent legitimate crime victims or witnesses from getting a visa. The store operator allegedly paid $5,000 to officers to create false police reports saying 24 people were the victims of crimes, Van Hook said. The collusion allegedly took place from December 2015 to July 2025, the prosecutor's office said. The defendants and charges include: – Subway sandwich store operator Chandrakant 'Lala' Patel, of Oakdale, Louisiana, who is charged with bribery, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit visa fraud – Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, who is charged with visa fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit visa fraud – Michael 'Freck' Slaney, a marshal in Oakdale who is charged with visa fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit visa fraud – Police Chief Glynn Dixon of Forest Hill, Louisiana, who is charged with visa fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit visa fraud – Tebo Onishea, former police chief of Glenmora, Louisiana, who is charged with visa fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit visa fraud A 21-page indictment filed in federal court this month includes the first initials and last names of 24 alleged victims – all of whom have the surname Patel. It was not immediately clear if any of those foreign nationals are related to the Subway store operator. This story has been updated with additional information. CNN's Caroll Alvarado, Jeremy Grisham and Devon Sayers contributed to this report.
Daily Mail
05-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
PETER HITCHENS: The police are revolting against the people of this country. They have failed to do their jobs and now they dare threaten us... the time has come for change
Our police chiefs have now quite obviously grown too big for their helmets. Their heads have got too swollen, while their feet, which they barely use any more, have gone soft from lack of contact with the pavement. The sheer nerve of their new threat to stop investigating some crimes if they don't like the size of their budget is an outrage. If Sir Keir Starmer wants to evoke a great cry of 'At last!' from the people of this country, he will very swiftly squash this disgraceful revolt against the public and Parliament by three of the most senior figures in the police hierarchy.
