Rajesh N. Patel, a 51-year-old resident of Ronceverte, West Virginia, was sentenced to three years of federal probation and fined $10,000 for knowingly transporting an illegal alien. The sentencing took place in Beckley.
Court documents revealed that from November 2020 through at least September 2024, Patel employed Aakash Prakash Makwana, a 30-year-old Indian citizen who was unlawfully residing in the United States after his visa expired. Makwana worked at a business owned by Patel in Fairlea and assisted with daily operations. During this period, Patel admitted he hired Makwana knowing his immigration status.
Patel also acknowledged driving Makwana to work and other locations because Makwana did not have a car. He further admitted he failed to collect or pay payroll taxes on Makwana’s wages and provided for his rent and groceries during most of his employment.
Makwana was sentenced to two years in prison on October 8, 2025, after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft. He admitted the offense was part of a scheme to marry a U.S. citizen in order to obtain lawful permanent residence status. According to court proceedings, Makwana conspired with others around August 2021 for the marriage fraud scheme, which ultimately failed.
As part of his plea agreement, Patel confessed he knew about the marriage fraud conspiracy and supported it by making cash payments to Makwana’s co-conspirators. Kalee Ann Huff, 28, from Fairbury, Illinois, also pleaded guilty to marrying Makwana as part of the scheme and received five years of federal probation for marriage fraud and perjury on June 12, 2025. Her brother-in-law Joseph Sanchez admitted helping arrange the fraudulent marriage and pressuring Huff; he was sentenced to five years of federal probation on May 28, 2025.
Avanibahen Patel, Rajesh Patel’s wife and also from Ronceverte, pleaded guilty on September 4, 2025, to unlawful employment of aliens and is scheduled for sentencing on January 13, 2026.
United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the sentences and praised the investigative efforts by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the case while Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted it.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and related criminal activity across the country using resources from the Department of Justice.
For more details or related court documents about this case (Case Nos. 5:25-cr-136), information is available via PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..
