In an operation that has drawn curtains on the long-standing criminal activities at the Royal Inn hotel in Phoenix, federal agents, including the FBI and the US Marshals, in collaboration with local police, have seized and ceased operations at the location. The hotel, notorious for harboring prostitution and drug trafficking, was the subject of a federal grand jury indictment which was unsealed by the United States District Court, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Key figures implicated in the 44-count indictment are the hotel's owner, Varsha Patel of Chino Hills, California, and Nilam Patel, the day-to-day manager, along with the Sarang Hospitality LLC, which conducted business as Royal Inn. They face charges that include Maintaining a Drug Premises and Using a Facility of Interstate Commerce in Aid of Racketeering, reflecting their alleged knowledge and facilitation of the illegal activities within their premises. The investigative agencies were keen to underline their efforts to critically reduce local crime through initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods.
The indictment details how the Patels and Sarang Hospitality LLC knowingly permitted their hotel to become a nest for illicit affairs, with evidence pointing to their direct involvement in promoting and profiting from these activities. This included renting rooms to known criminals and alerting them to police presence, thus aiding in perpetuating the cycle of lawlessness at the Royal Inn. The court documents reveal a calculated neglect to operate within legal boundaries despite numerous warnings and abatement letters from the Phoenix Police Department, as mentioned in the official report.
Also named in the indictment are four individuals accused of distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine at the Royal Inn: Anthony Curtis, Otis Childers, Chauntelle Mills, and Leonardo Guerrero. The allegations represent a fragment of a larger mosaic; a blighted landscape of addiction and crime that the hotel facilitated, and that these federal actions seek to finally, thoroughly to dismantle. Aside from the principal charges, Varsha Patel is accused of making false statements to obtain a Small Business Administration Loan. The defendants could face substantial fines and jail time if convicted. A conviction for Maintaining a Drug Premises, for instance, carries up to 20 years in prison accompanied by a $500,000 fine.
The Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gayle Helart and Patrick Chapman from the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, are spearheading the prosecution.
