Former Couple Sentenced for Multi-Million Dollar USDA Fraud Operations

Nikesh Patel sentenced to 27 years, Trisha Patel to 51 months for defrauding the USDA and financial institutions out of millions.Photo byBermix StudioonUnsplash

A formerly married couple has been sentenced for their involvement in multiple fraud schemes, including defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced today.

Nikesh Ajay Patel, 40, formerly of Windermere, Florida, was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison, which will run consecutively to the 25-year sentence he is already serving for a separate $179 million fraud case from the Northern District of Illinois, the department says.

His ex-wife, Trisha Patel, 41, of Orlando, Florida, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison on September 18, 2024. Both were ordered to pay restitution to the USDA and four financial institutions, the department stated.

According to court documents, Nikesh Patel orchestrated a $19 million fraud scheme targeting the USDA's Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program while on pretrial release.

He fabricated loan documents and used a fictitious identity to secure loan guarantees from the USDA.

The department says that after obtaining the USDA guarantee, Patel sold the loans to the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) and received more than $19 million.

The FBI recovered $11.3 million, and Patel was ordered to pay restitution for the remainder, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

For the third scheme, the department says Nikesh Patel, while in federal custody, recruited Trisha Patel to help perpetrate another fraud involving a Houston-based commercial pump manufacturer.

They falsely claimed the company was expanding operations in rural Puerto Rico.

The Patels fabricated a loan application for $8.5 million, securing a USDA-guaranteed loan. The couple then sold the loan guarantees to financial institutions, receiving $7.4 million.

The FBI recovered $74,545 and a 2022 BMW as part of the investigation, the department says.

Trisha Patel and Nikesh Patel each pleaded guilty to an information charging one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on May 21, 2024, and May 22, 2024, respectively, the department stated.