NISSWA, Minn. (FOX 9) - The former owner of a Nisswa hotel is facing charges, accused of tricking an immigrant woman into traveling to Minnesota with the promise of a free vacation, only to force her to work at his hotel instead.
Former hotel owner facing charges
What we know:
In a criminal complaint filed on Tuesday, Vijay Patel, 52, is charged with labor trafficking and threats of violence – both felonies.
Both charges date back to allegations between July 2024 and September 2024, where a woman claims she was tricked into traveling to the Nisswa Inn and Suites and ended up being forced into labor by Patel.
The backstory:
According to the charges, the victim is a Guyanese woman who said she ended up at the hotel after answering an advertisement. The woman told authorities that the advertisement promised a free vacation to Nisswa, Minnesota.
The charges state that the victim actually purchased the plane ticket from New York to Minnesota herself, under the belief she would be reimbursed.
After arriving in Minnesota, the victim was brought to Nisswa Inn and Suites and told that she would "clock in the morning," the complaint says.
Dig deeper:
The following morning, the victim was told by a manager to take a vacuum and begin cleaning a motel. The charges describe a strange interaction where the victim later met Patel, who told her to "bend over and pick things up off the floor."
However, the victim said she looked around and saw nothing to pick up. According to the charges, Patel only responded by saying, "Work smart, not hard."
Threatening messages
What they're saying:
Authorities say Patel then began demanding the victim send him nude photographs and began threatening the victim. The charges state the victim sent text messages pleading with Patel to send her home, saying she was "being held against my will."
The charges include one text that read: "You people force me to work for you without means or anything please send me home."
According to the charges, Patel responded to the messages by saying, "You have to stay there you came to work for me now."
The victim sent more desperate messages, asking Patel to send her home and saying she wanted to see her family. When she threatened to call the police, the complaint alleges that Patel threatened to kill her.
A text from Patel in the complaint reads: "If you should tell the police anything, I will kill you [victim's name] stay there."
Big picture view:
When the victim was finally able to leave the hotel, Patel is accused of sending her several more threatening messages. First, Patel is accused of sending a message in which he made a racially derogatory remark and told the woman, "I employed you to work for me as a slave."
The complaint says Patel also sent texts threatening to rape and shoot the victim and then "dump you like I dump my garbage."
The victim told authorities that there were other immigrant women working at the hotel that were being subjected to similar abuse.
Local perspective:
County records show Sri Ganesh LLC, a company managed by Patel, owned the hotel from 2013 until it was sold in July 2025 – a year after the allegations outlined in the complaint.
The Source: This story uses information from a criminal complaint filed in Crow Wing County.