Coralville hotel owner furnished hotel with $100K in illegally obtained property, police say
CORALVILLE — A hotel owner and manager furnished his property with thousands of dollars of illegally obtained property, authorities said.
Coralville police on Tuesday served a warrant at the Baymont Inns & Suites, 200 Sixth St., which is owned by 30-year-old Dharmesh G. Patel, of Iowa City. During the eight hours police and Coralville city workers were at the hotel, an estimated $100,000 worth of property was seized, said Coralville Police Lt. Deb Summers. Items included washers, dryers, televisions, linens, towels and a pool vacuum, Summers said.
“I don’t think anybody in the Coralville Police Department has been in a case like this before,” she said.
Patel’s case has been investigated by the Stevens Point, Wis. Police Department. Summers said Wisconsin authorities have been investigating Patel going back to this winter and contacted Coralville police when they traced him to the Baymont Inns & Suites. The investigation deals with allegations that Patel obtained property through identity theft and deceit.
Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/coralville-hotel-owner-dharmesh-patel-baymont-inns-20190711
(Cedar Rapids Gazette)