Former Massachusetts Man Indicted on Contempt Charges After Attempting to Flee the Country to Avoid Prison Sentence

BOSTON – An Illinois man, who previously lived in Massachusetts, was charged in federal court in Worcester with contempt after attempting to flee the United States.   

Ashokkumar Patel, a/k/a “Andy” Patel, 31, of Bartlett, Illinois, and formerly of Worcester and Plainville, Mass., was indicted on one count of contempt.

According to court records, Patel was convicted in June 2019 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. As part of that case, Patel was released from custody pending sentencing, and was subject to court-ordered conditions of release which included, among other things, that his travel was restricted to Massachusetts, as well as parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. In September 2020, Patel was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to self-report to the Bureau of Prisons on Nov. 3, 2020. 

It is alleged that on Oct. 15, 2020, Patel was encountered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a ditch in an area of blueberry fields in Canada, just over the Washington state border.  Patel was returned to the United States and arrested. 

Patel faces a sentence of up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine on the contempt charge plus up to an additional year in prison for committing this offense while on release, which must be served consecutive to any sentence he receives for contempt. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Blaine Border Patrol Station in Washington. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.