More than three years after an Indian family of four froze to death in a blizzard while attempting to cross into the United States from Canada, the man accused of orchestrating the illegal crossing has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
US District Judge John Tunheim sentenced Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, an Indian national prosecutors say operated under the alias “Dirty Harry”.
Patel was convicted in November 2024 on four counts related to an international human smuggling operation. Judge Tunheim had earlier declined to overturn the jury’s verdicts, stating,
“This was not a close case.”
Patel and his co-accused, Steve Anthony Shand, a US citizen from Florida, were accused of running a smuggling network that brought dozens of Indian nationals to Canada on student visas, then illegally moved them across the US border.
Among the victims was the Patel family from Dingucha, a village in Gujarat, western India. Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife Vaishaliben, in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi; and three-year-old son Dharmik froze to death on 19 January 2022. Their bodies were found by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police just north of the border near Emerson, Manitoba.
Prosecutor Michael McBride described the family’s final moments in chilling detail. Jagdish died shielding his son’s face with a frozen glove. Vihangi wore “ill-fitting boots and gloves”. Vaishaliben was found slumped against a fence she may have mistaken for safety. The wind chill that morning was recorded at –38°C.
Seven other migrants in their group survived, though only two reached Shand’s van, which had become stuck in the snow on the Minnesota side. One woman was airlifted to hospital with frostbite and hypothermia. Another survivor, who had never seen snow before arriving in Canada, testified they wore only the inadequate clothing given by the smugglers.
Prosecutors pushed for a sentence of 19 years and 7 months for Patel, and 10 years and 10 months for Shand. McBride told the court that as the Patel family wandered the blizzard in search of Shand’s vehicle, Shand texted Patel: “we not losing any money.” When arrested, Shand denied that anyone else was out in the snow, effectively abandoning the group to their fate.
Shand was also sentenced on Wednesday. His lawyer, federal defender Aaron Morrison, asked for a lighter sentence of just 27 months, arguing that Shand was a desperate driver with no role in planning or profiting from the scheme. “Mr Shand was on the outside of the conspiracy,” Morrison said.
“He did not have decision-making authority.”
Patel, who was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in February 2024, has remained in custody. His lawyers argued the evidence was insufficient for conviction and have requested a government-funded lawyer for an appeal. Patel claims to have no income or assets.
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