Justice Department Announces Charges and Guilty Pleas Involving 12 Individuals for Election Crimes

The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges and guilty pleas involving 12 individuals across multiple federal districts in connection with alleged election-related crimes, including illegal voting by non-citizens, fraudulent voter registration, and mail disposal.

According to the department, the actions span multiple states and involve allegations of voting in federal elections by non-citizens, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote, false statements on citizenship applications, and the disposal of ballots by a postal worker.

In the Southern District of Florida, Haitian national Valery Zidor pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false claim of citizenship in order to vote and one count of voting by an alien after voting in the 2024 general election while on Temporary Protected Status. In the District of Hawaii, Philippine national Bernadette Acaso pleaded guilty to unlawfully voting as an alien via a mail-in ballot in 2024.

Other individuals face various charges across several districts:

• Middle District of Florida: Canadian national Christiane Vinette Young was charged with three counts of voting by an alien across the 2022 primary, 2022 general, and 2024 general elections.
• District of Kansas: Nigerian national George Olawunmi Johnson was charged with false claims to citizenship, fraudulent election conduct, and voting by an alien in a federal election.
• District of New Jersey: Jamaican national Patrick Terrance Reid and Venezuelan national Danubis Bernat were charged with illegally voting in federal elections and making false statements on citizenship applications.
• Eastern District of Pennsylvania: Four non-citizens were charged: Cliff Sanon with submitting fraudulent voter registration applications; Dilea Ochoa-Perez with two counts of voting as an alien; and Sade Guppy and Eduardo Gallardo Maldonado, each with one count of voting as an alien.
• Western District of Texas: Mexican national Imelda Magallanes was charged with one count of voting by an alien in a federal election.
• District of Utah: Former postal carrier Damon Matai Seei was charged with unlawful secretion, destruction, and delay of mail for allegedly disposing of mail that included approximately 300 mail-in ballots.

The Justice Department noted that charges contained in criminal complaints, indictments, and informations are allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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