Overview

• U.S. District Judge John Tunheim imposed a 121-month term on ringleader Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and a 78-month term on driver Steve Anthony Shand for their roles in the smuggling conspiracy.
• Prosecutors detailed a network that brought dozens of Indian nationals into Canada on fraudulent student visas before pushing them across the U.S. border on foot.
• Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel and their children Vihangi and Dharmik froze to death in January 2022 after facing wind chills down to –36°F and wearing only light jackets and boots.
• Survivors testified that they received inadequate winter gear and that the defendants exchanged texts prioritizing profit over migrant safety as the family wandered in the blizzard.
• Prosecutors had sought nearly 20 years for Patel and almost 11 years for Shand, citing the defendants’ lack of remorse and callous planning in leaving migrants exposed to lethal conditions.