Federal prosecutors announced charges against 10 people and guilty pleas from two others in election-related cases spanning seven states, including allegations of illegal noncitizen voting, fraudulent voter registration and the disposal of about 300 mail-in ballots by a former postal carrier.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Justice Department announced Monday that federal prosecutors are pursuing election-related cases involving 12 people across seven states, with 10 defendants facing charges and two others having pleaded guilty in cases involving noncitizen voting, false citizenship claims, fraudulent voter registration and alleged destruction of election mail.
The nationwide enforcement announcement includes cases in Florida, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Hawaii and Utah. The Justice Department identified three of those involved as illegal aliens, while several others are lawful permanent residents who were not U.S. citizens at the time of the alleged voting offenses.
Among the cases is one involving approximately 300 mail-in ballots intended for Utah voters.
Former U.S. Postal Service carrier Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, Utah, was charged with unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail after prosecutors alleged that he discarded mail he had been entrusted to deliver.
The discarded material allegedly included approximately 300 mail-in ballots addressed to registered Utah voters for the June 23, 2026, primary election.
The allegations against Seei concern the handling of election mail rather than accusations that he cast illegal ballots himself.
Federal prosecutors are also pursuing several cases involving people who allegedly voted in federal elections despite not being U.S. citizens.
In Florida, Christiane Vinette Young, 75, a Canadian national described by the Justice Department as an illegal alien, was charged with three counts of voting by an alien.
Prosecutors allege Young knowingly voted despite not being a U.S. citizen in the 2022 primary election, the 2022 general election and the 2024 general election.
A second Florida case has already resulted in a guilty plea.
Valery Zidor, a Haitian national who was in the United States under Temporary Protected Status at the time he voted, pleaded guilty in federal court in South Florida to two counts of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship for the purpose of voting and one count of voting by an alien.
According to the Justice Department, Zidor falsely represented himself as a U.S. citizen when registering to vote and subsequently cast a ballot in the 2024 general election.
Federal prosecutors in Kansas charged George Olawunmi Johnson, a Nigerian national and lawful permanent resident, with offenses stemming from his voter registration and alleged participation in the 2024 election.
Johnson faces one count of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, one count of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship for the purpose of voting, one count of fraudulent election conduct and one count of voting by an alien in a federal election.
Prosecutors allege Johnson represented himself as a U.S. citizen when registering to vote in February 2010 and later cast a ballot in the November 2024 election despite remaining a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident.
Two additional cases in New Jersey involve lawful permanent residents accused not only of voting unlawfully but also of making false statements during the U.S. citizenship application process.
Patrick Terrance Reid, 61, a Jamaican national, is accused of participating in four presidential elections while he was not a U.S. citizen.
According to the Justice Department, Reid voted in person in the November 2012 and November 2016 presidential elections and cast mail-in ballots in the November 2020 and November 2024 presidential elections.
Federal prosecutors also charged Reid with making false statements while applying for U.S. citizenship.
Danubis Bernat, 49, a Venezuelan national and lawful permanent resident, is accused of voting in person in the 2024 general election despite not being a U.S. citizen.
Bernat also faces a charge alleging false statements in connection with an application for U.S. citizenship.
Pennsylvania accounts for four of the 12 people identified in the Justice Department announcement, including two whom federal authorities described as illegal aliens.
Cliff Sanon, 39, a Haitian national living in Philadelphia, was charged by criminal complaint with submitting a fraudulent voter registration application.
Federal prosecutors allege Sanon submitted a voter registration application in February 2026 ahead of Pennsylvania’s May 2026 primary despite being a Haitian citizen and not a U.S. citizen.
The government alleges that application was not an isolated occurrence. According to the complaint, Sanon submitted eight fraudulent voter registration applications and also voted in the November 2022 election.
Another Pennsylvania defendant, Dilea Ochoa-Perez, 43, is a Mexican national whom the Justice Department identified as an illegal alien residing in Coatesville.
She was charged by information with two counts of voting as an alien.
Prosecutors allege Ochoa-Perez voted in Chester County during both the November 2022 and November 2024 general elections despite being a Mexican citizen rather than a U.S. citizen at the time of both elections.
Sade Guppy, 37, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago and lawful permanent resident of the United States, faces one count of voting as an alien.
According to prosecutors, Guppy voted in Philadelphia County in the November 2022 general election while she was not a U.S. citizen.
Eduardo Gallardo Maldonado, 66, a Mexican national and lawful permanent resident, was similarly charged with one count of voting as an alien.
The Justice Department alleges Maldonado cast a ballot in Philadelphia County during the November 2024 general election despite not holding U.S. citizenship.
Federal authorities also brought a case in Texas against Imelda Magallanes, 51, a Mexican national and lawful permanent resident.
Magallanes was charged with one count of voting by an alien in a federal election.
According to voting records cited by federal prosecutors, Magallanes registered to vote in Midland County in October 2020 using a Texas driver’s license for identification. Those records show that she later voted in the November 2024 general election, according to the Justice Department.
The second guilty plea announced Monday came from Hawaii.
Bernadette Acaso, 20, a Philippine national and lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty to unlawfully voting as an alien.
Federal prosecutors said Acaso participated in the 2024 election by casting a mail-in ballot even though she was not a U.S. citizen.
The collection of cases announced Monday involves different conduct and circumstances rather than a single alleged nationwide operation. The prosecutions range from individual instances of alleged noncitizen voting and false citizenship representations to allegedly fraudulent registrations and the Utah postal case involving hundreds of ballots intended for registered voters.
The Justice Department said the cases include voting by noncitizens in federal elections, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register or vote, providing false information during citizenship proceedings and allegedly discarding election mail.
The two defendants who pleaded guilty — Zidor in Florida and Acaso in Hawaii — have admitted to the offenses specified in their respective pleas. The charges against the remaining defendants are allegations and have not established guilt.
The Justice Department emphasized that criminal complaints, indictments and informations contain accusations only and that defendants facing charges are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
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