Royal Inn owner sentenced for allowing criminal activity at Phoenix motel

PHOENIX – The owner of a Phoenix motel that was shut down for prostitution and drug activity in 2024 was sentenced on Feb. 4, authorities announced.

A judge ordered Varsha Patel, 57, of Chino Hills, California, to serve five years of probation, forfeit the Royal Inn motel and $744,000, and pay a fine of $5,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

The sentencing came after Patel pleaded guilty to using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of racketeering enterprises.

The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Phoenix Police Department served search and seizure warrants at the Royal Inn on Sept. 24, 2024. The property is located at 2510 W. Palo Verde Drive, near Interstate 17 and Bethany Home Road.

Patel and others were named in a 44-count indictment before the warrants were served. The motel owners were accused of renting rooms to people engaging in prostitution and drug dealing since 2017.

“The defendant knowingly and willingly operated the Royal Inn to facilitate the sexual exploitation of people and the sale of drugs,” FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said in a press release. “The defendant essentially operated a marketplace of illicit activity and profited for years while turning a blind and uncaring eye to the families that live in that neighborhood. That ended when the FBI seized the hotel, and this defendant will now pay the price for her actions.”

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