Cops Catch Convicted Worcester Man Hiding In Canadian Ditch

WORCESTER, MA — A former Worcester resident came very close to eluding a federal prison sentence, authorities are reporting.

Ashokkumar Patel, 31, was supposed to report to a federal prison on Nov. 3 to serve a 40-month sentence after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

But in mid-October, Patel, who was limited to travel within Massachusetts and a few Midwest states, was caught by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police hiding in a ditch near a blueberry field in Canada across the Washington border.

For trying to escape, feds charged Patel with contempt, adding six months to his sentence.

Prosecutors say Patel and others bilked U.S. residents out of thousands by telling them they owed money to the IRS.

"The victims were told that in order to avoid imminent arrest they had to purchase MoneyPak, or other types of prepaid stored value cards, load thousands of dollars onto the cards and provide the serial numbers to the callers," federal prosecutors said.

Patel and others stole about $900,000 from victims in 2013 and 2014, according to prosecutors.