Department of Justice Charges 16 Individuals for Illegal Voting and Related Election Crimes

 

Today, the Justice Department announced charges against 16 individuals in connection with illegal voting, illegal voter registration, and related election-fraud schemes across the country. The charges include unlawful voting by non-citizens in federal elections, false claims of citizenship to register or vote, and related offenses including wire fraud, naturalization fraud, passport fraud, and unlawful firearm purchases uncovered during the course of these investigations. 

Case details are as follows:

Northern District of Texas 

This week, eight aliens residing in Texas are facing charges for alleged unlawful voting.  

• Moises Anwar Arellano‑Alba, 36, an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with final order of removal, has been charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and false statement of citizenship in order to register to vote.
• Nigerian national, Helen Sayen Adams, 67, a lawful permanent resident since May 2024, was charged with Voting by an Alien in a Federal Election and False Statement of Citizenship in Order to Register to Vote. 
• Nigerian national, Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27, a lawful permanent resident since 2016, has been charged with false statements in relation to naturalization. 
• Mexican national, Carlos Salas Barrios, 41, a lawful permanent resident since 2018, has been charged by complaint with allegedly voting by an Alien in a Federal Election. 
• Indian National, Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, 69, a lawful permanent resident since 2022, has been charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and false statement of citizenship in order to register to vote. 
• Democratic Republic of Congo National, Celestin Katubadi, 20, a lawful permanent resident, has been charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and false statement of citizenship in order to vote. 
• Mexican national, Rocio Thrasher, 38, a lawful permanent resident since 2017, has been charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and false statement of citizenship in order to register to vote. 

Western District of Texas

Mexican national, Monica Carzoli, 46, a lawful permanent resident, admitted to registering to vote and then voting in the November 2024 election. Carzoli was arrested on criminal charges this week in Del Rio, Texas. 

District of Idaho 

Avila Gomez, an illegal alien from Mexico, allegedly claimed to be a U.S. citizen to register to vote and thereafter voted in May 2022 and November 2024. Additionally, Gomez allegedly fraudulently obtained Idaho identification cards while devising a scheme to defraud U.S. departments and agencies.

A federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, returned an indictment charging Gomez with Wire Fraud, Theft of Government Funds, False Statement of Citizenship in Order to Vote, Voting by Alien, False Statement in Application of Passport, Fraud in Connection with Identification Documents Production, False Statement During Purchase of Firearm, and Unlawful Possession of Firearm.

Photo of Mexican national, Monica Carzoli, 46, a lawful permanent resident.

Northern District of Georgia

Three aliens residing in Georgia are facing charges for illegally voting in U.S. elections. 

• Pauline Lewis, 65, a suspected illegal alien from Antigua and Barbuda, was arrested on a criminal complaint charging her with voting as a non-citizen in a federal election. 
• Gabriel Covarrubias, 44, a suspected illegal alien from Mexico, is alleged to have voted in person using a false name in the November 2024 federal election in addition to making a false statement in a U.S. passport application.
• Analiea Milliscent Eccles, 44, an illegal alien from Venezuela and DACA recipient, voted nine times between 2008 and 2024. She appeared in federal court following her arrest on a criminal complaint charging her with voting as a non-citizen in a federal election and making a false claim of U.S. citizenship to vote in an election. 

District of Massachusetts 

Nigerian national, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, a lawful permanent resident, has been arrested and charged with illegally voting in the 2022 elections and allegedly voting in the 2024 general election.

Photo of Nigerian national, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, a lawful permanent resident.

Western District of Wisconsin

Colombian national, Julieta Englestad, 53, a lawful permanent resident, is facing charges for falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen when registering to vote in the November 2022 federal election. If convicted, Englestad faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the illegal registering to vote count and a maximum penalty of one year in prison on the illegal voting count. 

Photo of Columbian National, Julieta Englestad, 53, a lawful permanent resident.

 District of New Jersey

Santana Coulibaly, an alien with lawful permanent residence. She registered to vote in October 2016, voted in federal elections in 2018 and 2020, and submitted a provisional ballot in the 2024 Presidential election. Additionally, Coulibaly made fraudulent statements in an application for Naturalization (N-400) she submitted in December 2021 and October 2024. Coulibaly was arrested this week. 

Eastern District of Michigan 

Russian national, Victoria Viktorivna Aquilina, 43, registered to vote in 2023, and allegedly casted a vote in a U.S. election. Aquilina was charged today with illegally voting in the 2024 general election. 

A complaint, indictment, and information merely contain accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.