Two men convicted in a human-smuggling operation that resulted in the January 2022 deaths of an Indian family attempting to cross the Canada-U.S. border are facing lengthy prison sentences sought by U.S. federal prosecutors. The family froze to death during the crossing.
In sentencing submissions filed Wednesday, the U.S. The Attorney’s Office recommended that Harshkumar Patel receive a prison sentence of just over 19 years and that co-defendant Steve Shand served 10 years for their roles in the smuggling network.
A Minnesota jury found Patel, an Indian national, and Shand, a Florida man, guilty last year of human-smuggling-related charges after four members of the Patel family, Jagdish, 39; his wife Vaishaliben, 37; and their two children, Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3, were discovered frozen to death in a snowy field at the U.S. border in Emerson, Man.
“Mr. Patel has never shown an ounce of remorse,” prosecutors Lisa Kirkpatrick and Michael McBride wrote, adding that he continues to deny involvement despite “substantial evidence to the contrary.”
The Crown alleges the pair were part of an international smuggling operation that trafficked Indian nationals through Canada and into the U.S. via dangerous footpaths.
Migrants would typically arrive in Canada on easy to acquire student visas before being guided to the border and encouraged to cross the border without concern for weather conditions.
Court documents note Shand was caught in a van near the border with two Indian migrants inside, while several others were located nearby on foot.
At the time, temperatures had plunged below -20 C, creating a deadly weather situation.
“Five times Mr. Shand sat in the frigid winter conditions, experiencing first-hand how dangerous and deadly the cold could be. Yet he kept going back,” the government said in its submission.
“He did not recognize the humanity of the migrants he was endangering; he saw only a payday.”
The government’s filing characterizes Shand as someone who “conspired with Patel” and repeatedly prioritized financial gain over human life.
A U.S. District Court judge previously denied requests for new trials, concluding there was sufficient evidence for the jury’s guilty verdicts on all four counts faced by each man.
Shand’s lawyer, Aaron Morrison, argued in a separate submission that the proposed 10-year sentence is “unduly punitive,” stating his client had a minimal role in the broader smuggling operation.
He is requesting a lighthearted sentence of just over two years.
“He is not a heartless lifelong criminal. He is a man who made a bad decision based on a deep-rooted belief that to fail in supporting his family is to fail as a man,” Morrison wrote.
Patel’s attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, has not submitted a sentencing recommendation for his client.
The sentencing hearings for both men are scheduled for May 28.