2nd man convicted of human smuggling after family froze to death at Manitoba border files notice of appeal

Caitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 06, 2025 6:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 6

Both men convicted of quality smuggling pursuing a proceedings past twelvemonth person present filed notices of appeal, successful a lawsuit wherever a household of 4 from India froze to decease arsenic they tried to locomotion crossed the planetary borderline from Manitoba successful blizzard conditions successful 2022.

A lawyer for Harshkumar Patel filed the announcement successful United States District Court successful the District of Minnesota connected Friday, aft lawyers for co-accused Steve Shand filed his announcement of entreaty connected Wednesday.

The announcement said Patel plans to entreaty some his condemnation and sentence, and that helium intends to situation the constitutionality and exertion of sentencing guidelines successful the case.

Last week, Patel and Shand were sentenced successful a Minnesota courtroom to lengthy situation presumption for their roles successful carrying retired a strategy to bring Indian migrants into the U.S. from Canada.

Patel, an Indian nationalist arrested successful Chicago past year, was sentenced to conscionable implicit 10 years successful situation for co-ordinating the smuggling cognition and hiring Shand, a Florida resident, to thrust the migrants erstwhile they walked implicit the borderline into the U.S.

Shand was arrested adjacent the borderline the nighttime the household died. He was found, on with different Indian nationals, successful a van stuck successful the snowfall connected the Minnesota broadside of the borderline that night.

Last week, helium was handed a condemnation of six and a fractional years successful situation to beryllium followed by a play of supervised release. 

The 2 men were tried and convicted successful the national courthouse successful Fergus Falls, Minn., past November, aft a assemblage deliberated for little than 90 minutes earlier returning with blameworthy verdicts connected each 4 charges each of the men faced related to bringing unauthorized radical into the U.S., transporting them and profiting from it. 

The men's notices of entreaty travel much than 3 years aft 4 members of the Patel household (who were not related to Harshkumar Patel) died portion trying to locomotion crossed the border.

The frozen bodies of 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year-old wife, Vaishali, their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi and their three-year-old son, Dharmik, were recovered successful a snow-drifted Manitoba tract astir 12 metres from the U.S. borderline connected Jan. 19, 2022.

The somesthesia that time was –23 C, but the upwind chill made it consciousness similar the –35 to –38 range.

U.S. national prosecutors had recommended sentences of astir 20 years for Patel, and astir 11 years for Shand. Both men's lawyers had asked for little sentences than what prosecutors were seeking. 

Patel's lawyers argued astatine proceedings helium was wrongfully accused successful the case, portion Shand's described their lawsuit arsenic an unsuspecting cab operator duped by Patel into shuttling migrants into the U.S. aft they walked crossed the planetary borderline illegally.

Court heard Patel, who appeared astatine his May 28 sentencing successful an orangish azygous and handcuffed, is apt to beryllium deported to his autochthonal India aft completing his sentence. Shand near the courthouse with his lawyers, and volition beryllium taken into custody astatine a aboriginal date.

In April, a justice rejected requests to acquit oregon bid caller trials for the men, whose lawyers had argued the grounds against their clients was insufficient.

To date, nary 1 successful Canada is facing charges successful the case. RCMP antecedently said the probe was ongoing, and did not respond to a petition for an update past week.