How Sunny Naqvi Finally Got Caught
A U.S. citizen faked an ICE detention. Then, a county sheriff and ex-boyfriend started comparing notes. We spoke to both.
This is part three of our investigation. You can read part one here and part two here.
On Friday, April 10, 2026, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt hosted a press conference that explained what exactly Sunny Naqvi was doing between March 5 and March 8, the period during which the U.S. citizen had falsely claimed ICE had detained her. Think: checking into a hotel seven minutes away from O’Hare, getting a spa treatment, responding to “work” emails, dancing at a convenience store, and even taking multiple selfies at a hotel.
He presented CCTV footage, WhatsApp messages, hotel invoices, and even possible Google map routes to prove one thing: Naqvi was never in ICE detention. Instead, she had gotten an unwitting victim to pay for her little getaway. This person even drove her to Wisconsin so she could meet up with her family. Now, Schmidt is suing Naqvi, along with others, for defamation and seeking over $1 million in damages.
So why do all this? Why go to all the trouble? We spoke to Schmidt, ex-boyfriends, and more to fill in the remaining pieces of the puzzle. “When I saw that the story was that she was taken to Dodge County…and I realized where she made me drive her was like 10 minutes away…all the pieces started to click,” the witness, who told police about how he had paid at least “$35,000” to fund Naqvi’s life, including her stay at the Hampton Inn, told The Juggernaut.