MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Two men convicted in a tragic human smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of an Indian family near the Canada-U.S. border were sentenced in a U.S. federal court today. Harshkumar Patel, identified by prosecutors as an organizer of the smuggling logistics, received a lengthy prison sentence, while Steve Shand, who transported migrants on the U.S. side, was handed 3 and a half years less in prison time.
The sentencing follows their convictions last fall on four charges related to bringing people illegally into the United States and transporting them. This case drew international attention in January 2022 when Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and their three-year-old son, Dharmik, were found frozen to death in a Manitoba field, mere meters from the U.S. border, after attempting to cross during a severe blizzard.
While prosecutors had sought a sentence of just over 19 years for Harshkumar Patel and 10 years for Steve Shand, the exact sentences handed down today – 10 years for Patel and 6 and a half years for Shand – amount to a little over half of the lengths prosuctors had hoped for.
The trial detailed the ill-fated ordeal in January 2022. The Patel family, unrelated to the accused Harshkumar Patel, was part of a group of Indian nationals who were brought to Canada on student visas. They were then driven to a remote area near Emerson, Manitoba, and instructed to walk across the border into the U.S. in the dead of night during a blizzard. Temperatures plummeted to -23°C, with wind chill factors making it feel colder than -35°C. The migrants were inadequately dressed for such extreme conditions, wearing only light jackets, jeans, and attire suited for mild weather.
One survivor testified during the trial that the group was told to walk in a straight line through the darkness and deep snow until they reached a van on the U.S. side, which was to be driven by Shand. The group became separated in the treacherous conditions. Only two managed to reach Shand’s van after hours of walking; another individual suffered such severe hypothermia that she required airlift to a Minneapolis hospital.
Tragically, the Patel family did not survive. Their bodies were discovered hours after Shand’s arrest. The three-year-old boy, Dharmik, was found still in his father’s arms. Vaishaliben Patel’s body was located a short distance away, near a chain-link fence by an unmanned natural gas facility, suggesting she may have separated from her family in a desperate attempt to find shelter or help at the only visible structure.
Prosecutors outlined that Harshkumar Patel was responsible for organizing the logistics of these smuggling operations, which occurred multiple times in December 2021 and January 2022. Steve Shand’s role was to pick up the migrants in rented vehicles on the U.S. side and transport them to cities like Chicago.
During the trial, Shand’s defense argued he was merely a taxi driver hired by Harshkumar Patel to pick up individuals and was unaware of the illegal nature of the operation until his arrest. Harshkumar Patel’s lawyers claimed their client was misidentified and, unlike Shand, there was no evidence placing him near the border. Patel was arrested in February 2023.
Despite these defenses, a jury found both men guilty on all charges. Following the verdict, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger described the case as one of “unthinkable cruelty” in which the men valued money more than people’s lives.
The sentencing today closes a significant chapter in a case that underscored the dangerous human cost of illegal smuggling operations across the northern border, and highlights a major problem in Canada involving the use of student visas obtained for the purposes of illegal migration to the US.
