MADISON - A former Stevens Point resident was sentenced Thursday to 7¼ years in federal prison for identity theft and wire fraud.
Dharmesh Patel, 31, whose current address is listed as Iowa City, Iowa, co-owned and ran the Baymont Inn and Suites Hotel in Stevens Point, according to a news release from the United States Attorney General's Office of the Western District of Wisconsin. Patel stole the identity of someone who worked at the hotel and used it to buy merchandise for the hotel and a Baymont Inn & Suites Hotel Patel operated in Coralville, Iowa, according to the news release.
Patel used the employee's identity to buy 110 55-inch televisions and shipped them to Stevens Point, according to the news release. Patel then moved them, along with other merchandise, to Iowa. The total amount of Patel's thefts exceeded $500,000, according to the release.
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Patel pleaded guilty to the charges March 13. On Thursday, Federal Judge James Peterson said Patel stood out from other white-collar defendants because of his lengthy criminal history, according to the release. Peterson said a significant sentence was necessary to deter Patel and to protect the public from his crimes. Peterson said Patel's ongoing behavior showed that Patel was a menace, according to the release.
Portage County prosecutors charged Patel in 2017 in circuit court with felony criminal damage to property for causing more than $5,000 in damage to a competitor's hotels, according to criminal complaints. Patel and another man cut pipes near the ice machines in two hotels, and Patel hired someone to release bed bugs in a competitor's hotel, according to the criminal complaints.
Patel has four open felony cases in Portage County related to the federal charges and to the criminal damage charges. He's scheduled for status conferences on his Portage County cases July 27.
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Former Stevens Point hotel owner gets 87 months in federal prison for identity theft, wire fraud - Stevens Point Journal
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