Five Plead Guilty in a U Visa Fraud Scheme

Glynn Dixon, 62, pleaded guilty in federal court on June 30 for his role in a conspiracy involving bribery, visa fraud and mail fraud, according to an August 7 announcement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dixon's plea followed guilty pleas by Chandrakant Patel, 40; Chad Doyle, 55; Michael Slaney, 64; and Tebo Onishea, 38. All five had been indicted on July 2, 2025.

Four of the defendants held law-enforcement positions when the offenses occurred. Doyle served as Oakdale chief of police, Slaney as Oakdale marshal for Ward 5, Dixon as Forest Hill chief of police and Onishea as Glenmora chief of police. Patel owned a local business.

ICE said the conspiracy ran from December 2015 through July 2025. The defendants fabricated police reports describing armed robberies that never happened, then supplied the reports to noncitizens seeking U nonimmigrant status. Those individuals paid Patel thousands of dollars to be identified as victims in the fictitious cases, according to the release.

Patel coordinated with Doyle, Slaney, Dixon and Onishea, who used their official positions to certify the false reports, ICE said. In one instance, Patel attempted to bribe an official with the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office to secure another fabricated report. The defendants also sent falsified documents through the U.S. Postal Service, conduct included in the mail-fraud allegations described by the agency.

Congress created U nonimmigrant status to help authorities investigate and prosecute crimes while protecting victims who assist law enforcement. In this scheme, the police reports and official certifications that were supposed to document real crimes became the claimed basis for fraudulent applications. ICE said the conduct damaged public trust in that process.

HSI, the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Fraud Detection and National Security Division of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services investigated the case. ICE said the work was carried out through a Homeland Security Task Force under Operation Take Back America, a federal initiative led by the Justice and Homeland Security departments.

Dixon, Doyle, Onishea and Slaney each face up to five years in prison. Patel faces up to 20 years. The ICE release does not identify sentencing dates, plea terms, whether any of the related U visa applications were approved or what action immigration authorities took on them.