Vishal Sentenced on Counterfeiting charge

A 22-year old man from India will serve time in the Lake County Jail, and his immigration status is uncertain, after being sentenced on Tuesday. Vishal Vishal had been attending Dakota State University in Madison on a student visa. He was arrested in November of 2023, and charged with multiple felonies, including identity theft.

Vishal pled guilty to making or possessing a counterfeiting device, which is a Class 6 felony. During sentencing on Tuesday, he told Circuit Judge Patrik Pardy that he had goals of completing his degree at DSU, and working for the FBI in Cyber Technology. He asked the court for a suspended imposition of sentence, which would have allowed for the conviction to eventually be cleared from his record. 

Pardy instead sentenced Visahl to serve 2 years in the state penitentiary. Pardy suspended that prison time, and ordered that he serve 120 days in the Lake County Jail and pay restitution to the Madison Eye Care Center and Sunshine Foods. Vishal was given credit for 36 days previously served. 

Judge Pardy said it was possible that U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement may seek to revoke Vishal’s student visa.