Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

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After three days of testimony, it took jurors about an hour Friday to convict two men, Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand, on all counts related to human smuggling at the Federal Courthouse in Fergus Falls.  

Much of the case surrounded the night of Jan. 19, 2022. That is when a family of four from India froze to death in a snowstorm while attempting to cross into the U.S. from Canada. 

U.S attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew Luger said the actions of the two defendants led to the Patel family's deaths — calling it “immoral depravity.” 

He said when a jury deliberates for two hours or less it's an indication the evidence is overwhelming.

“It’s an important signal to the community that law enforcement prosecutors are doing the right thing,” Luger said. “Day and night, behind the scenes.” 

During the trial U.S. prosecutors Ryan Lipes and Michael McBride detailed an extensive human smuggling network that flew people from the Indian state of Gujarat to Canada using student visas.

In the early days of the operation the migrants, who reportedly paid as much as $100,000 each, would then fly to Vancouver, B.C., and be driven to a site near the Canadian border. 

Smugglers stateside would then track the migrants who were crossing the border illegally on foot using a phone app. After they were on U.S. soil the smugglers would call an unsuspecting Uber driver to pick up the migrants and take them to safe houses in Washington state.

Things changed though in late 2021. Landslides made crossing into Washington impossible.

The alleged mastermind behind the smuggling ring Finl Patel then began coordinating crossings near Emerson, Canada, into Minnesota with the help of Harshkumar Patel. 

Once the migrants had crossed into Minnesota, Shand would pick them up in a rented vehicle and take them to Chicago to work in a chain of restaurants.

Finl Patel and Harshkumar Patel, successfully orchestrated four crossings in December 2021 and January 2022. On one trip Shand's wife Stephanie Brown made two roundtrips from Winnipeg to a drop-off near the border after flying into Winnipeg.

The Patel family, no relation to the smugglers, tried to cross on Jan. 19, 2022. It was snowing hard that night with a windchill of 35 below. 

Poorly dressed for the trip they didn’t make it.

The father was found huddled with his three-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. A short distance away the mother was found slumped over, leaned against a chain link fence. Medical examiners attributed their deaths to hypothermia.

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During jury selection a few of the potential jurors were excused because they said the children’s deaths would prejudice their judgement.

Shand was arrested the day of the deaths. Harshkumar Patel was arrested earlier this year at O'Hare Airport in Chicago.

Leaving the courthouse juror Kevin Paul said the most compelling evidence he heard during the trial involved the family’s final moments.

“With the conditions that they were in, and I grew up in North Dakota, so, it’s pretty brutal,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine having to do what they had to do out there in the middle of nowhere.”

Finl Patel and Stephanie Brown have yet to be charged for their involvement in the smuggling organization.

U.S. Attorney Lugar did not rule out further charges.

“Th.e investigation is continuing. Our office will remain involved in it with our law enforcement partners, and that's all I can say there,” he said.

A sentencing date for Harshkumar Patel and Shand had been tentatively set for March. Lawyers for the convicted men were not available for comment.

Correction (Jan. 4, 2025): This story has been updated to include the proper date of the Patel family deaths.

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A jury in Fergus Falls took only about an hour to return verdicts of guilty on all charges to two men accused of human smuggling. The trial arose from the hypothermia deaths of a family from India who in January 2022 were directed to walk across the border from Canada into Minnesota during a bitterly cold snowstorm. 

Defendants in human smuggling case convicted on all counts

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