LAFAYETTE — Five people, including several current and former head law enforcement officers, were taken into custody earlier in the week and indicted on an alleged scheme involving falsifying crimes to facilitate immigration visa fraud for profit, national and state officials announced Wednesday. 

Officials said four current and former law enforcement agents were taken into custody Monday as well as a Oakdale business owner. The following people are being indicted after the U.S. Attorney's Office in Shreveport returned a 62-count indictment for the alleged immigration conspiracy:

- Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle
- Oakdale Ward 5 Marshal Mike "Freck" Slaney
- Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon
- Former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea
- Oakdale Subway restaurant owner Chandrakant Patel

The five men are being charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, while Patel is being charged with bribery. The law enforcement agents are also being charged with several counts each of visa fraud. The complete indictment can be read here. 

WBRZ reported Tuesday that two of the defendants — Dixon and Doyle — were arrested in Baton Rouge while attending the Association of Chiefs of Police conference at the Crowne Plaza hotel.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Alexander Van Hook said the alleged scheme, dating to December 2015, saw the group conspiring to fraudulently obtain U-visas reserved for victims of crimes like armed robbery. 

Van Hook, reading from the indictment, said that Patel, believed to be the "mastermind" behind the scheme, collected money from foreign nationals who were not witnesses or victims of armed robbery.

The process to apply for a U-visa begins with a petition where a law enforcement official must certify that the alleged crime happened and that the victim cooperated with law enforcement in the criminal investigation, the Niskanen Center writes. To be eligible for a U-visa, a petitioner must prove they suffered substantial physical or mental harm due to certain crimes, as well as not committing any previous crimes.

"There was an unusual number of armed robberies of people not from Louisiana in some of our small communities in Louisiana and they were alleging those people were victims of armed robberies," Van Hook said. "In fact, the armed robberies never took place and those listed on the applications were never victims of crimes."

Patel then allegedly paid the indicted law enforcement officers $5,000 per false report to provide appropriate documentation to allow for the approval of the nonimmigrant U-visas.

"We expect law enforcement officers to protect the public and to honor their trust, not to sell that trust and the honor of their badges for personal gain," FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp said.

Van Hook added that the U-visas also allowed family members to remain in the country. He added that over "hundreds of visas" were approved.

Patel also bribed a member of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office $5,000 on Feb. 18, 2025, with the intent to influence and reward them in exchange for a fraudulent police report from the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation into the visa scheme started from a tip from immigration services in 2024 to the alleged crimes in central and western Louisiana, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune said at a federal courthouse in Lafayette. 

"Almost 200 law enforcement officers executed 11 search warrants throughout that (area)," DeLaune said. 

The operation, investigated and prosecuted by the Homeland Security Task Force, was executed as part of "Operation Take Back America," an ongoing crackdown on immigration nationwide under the Trump administration, officials said. The task force is made up of state, federal and local law enforcement, including Louisiana State Police, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

"My office was working with our federal partners prior to the federal arrests. We are now reviewing the evidence and expect additional state charges will follow. Public officials - especially those in law enforcement - who are conspire to commit fraud and obstruct justice violate the public trust and undermine faith in justice. They will be held accountable," Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that if convicted, the five defendants each face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, up to 10 years on the visa fraud charges, up to 20 years on the mail fraud charge, and Patel faces up to 10 years on the bribery charge. They could also be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000 on each count, the U.S. Attorney's Office added. Van Hook added that the court proceedings will be taken up in the Alexandria division of the court. 

The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of various bank accounts, vehicles and property that could be ill-gotten gains from the scheme. 

Currently, only Patel is still in custody, Van Hook said.

"The other individuals were released by the court yesterday on conditions because the court determined they did not pose a flight risk or a danger to the community going forward," he said. 

The employment status of the arrested law enforcement officers is up to state and local officials, the attorney said.