Ontario man sentenced in attempted theft case in Highland County

A Canadian man was sentenced to jail and community control recently in Highland County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to an attempted theft charge.

As previously reported, Yashkumar P. Patel, 23, of Etobicoke, Ontario was indicted by a Highland County grand jury in May and charged with one count of theft by deception from a person in a protected class, a second-degree felony, and attempted theft by deception from a person in a protected class, a fourth-degree felony.

According to court records, Patel pleaded guilty to the fourth-degree felony charge in July, with the second-degree felony charge dismissed.

The indictment accused Patel of “engaging in conduct that, if successful, would constitute or result in” theft by deception from a person in a protected class on or about April 8.

As previously reported, an investigation by the Greenfield Police Department, the Highland County Sheriff's Office and the Highland County Task Force revealed someone claiming to be a federal agent from the Federal Trade Commission allegedly contacted the victim and advised that her personal information had been stolen and was being used to purchase illicit drugs, child pornography and used for money laundering. The caller said the federal government was seizing her funds until the investigation was over.   

During a Sept. 9 hearing, Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced Patel to 180 days in the Highland County Jail, with credit from April 9. Patel was ordered to reside in Highland County unless he self-deports to India or is deported by the government.

According to court records, a copy of the judgment entry was forwarded to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for possible deportation.