Several high-profile fraud cases in the United States have involved Indian nationals or Indian-origin individuals, often centered on immigration-related schemes like visa fraud, but also including financial scams targeting vulnerable Americans. These cases highlight vulnerabilities in the U.S. immigration and financial systems, yet India was not included in the recent U.S. State Department list of 75 countries subject to immigrant visa processing halts due to high public benefits usage rates. Below are some major examples based on documented cases:

• Infosys Visa Fraud Settlement (2013, resolved in 2024 updates): The Indian IT giant Infosys paid a record $34 million fine to settle allegations of systemic visa fraud. The company was accused of abusing B-1 visitor visas by using them for skilled work that should have required H-1B visas, circumventing U.S. immigration laws and displacing American workers. 1
• Rambhai Patel U-Visa Scam (2023-2025): Indian national Rambhai Patel was sentenced to over 20 months in prison for orchestrating staged armed robberies at convenience stores across multiple states. The scheme allowed participants to fraudulently apply for U-visas (intended for crime victims) in exchange for payments totaling about $850,000, which he forfeited. Patel faces deportation after his sentence. 0 4 12
• H-1B Visa Fraud by Indian-Origin Men (2024): Three individuals—Kishore Dattapuram, Kumar Aswapathi, and Santosh Giri—pleaded guilty to conspiracy and visa fraud for manipulating the H-1B visa lottery system. They submitted fraudulent applications to secure work visas for tech jobs, facing up to 10 years in prison each. This case drew attention to broader concerns about visa abuse in the tech sector. 9 17
• Call Center Scams Targeting U.S. Victims (2016-2025): Multiple Indian nationals were involved in India-based call center operations that defrauded thousands of Americans out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Scammers impersonated IRS or USCIS officials, threatening victims with deportation or fines unless they paid via wire transfers or stored-value cards. Key figures include Hitesh Patel (extradited from Singapore in 2025 for leadership in the scheme) and Bharatkumar Patel (pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2025). 6 13
• Nirav B. Patel Elderly Fraud Conspiracy (2025): Indian citizen Nirav B. Patel was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in an India-based imposter scam that targeted elderly victims in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The scheme involved wire and mail fraud, defrauding victims of their life savings through deceptive calls. 2 18
• Aryan Anand Student Visa and Scholarship Fraud (2024): Indian national Aryan Anand was deported after admitting to fabricating documents, including a fake death certificate for his father, to secure a student visa and a full-ride scholarship at Lehigh University. The fraud was uncovered via a Reddit confession, leading to his arrest and removal. 3
• Nasir Hussain VAWA Petition Fraud (2025): Indian citizen Nasir Hussain was convicted for submitting false statements on a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petition, a form of immigration relief for abuse victims. He was sentenced to time served and faces potential deportation. 5 10
• Large-Scale Illegal Entry Scheme (2025): India’s Enforcement Directorate investigated a network involving at least 4,300 Indian nationals who allegedly entered the U.S. illegally between 2021 and 2024 using sham marriages, fake death certificates, and other fraudulent methods. 14

These cases often involve immigration fraud rather than direct welfare abuse, which may explain why India isn’t on the public charge-related visa halt list—the policy focuses on overall dependency rates rather than individual fraud incidents. However, such schemes can indirectly strain U.S. resources and public trust in the immigration system.