DOJ Announces Charges Against 16 for Alleged Illegal Voting

The Department of Justice on Oct. 12 announced a fresh slate of illegal voting charges, including some against people who are not U.S. citizens.

Fourteen people illegally voted in at least one election, according to indictments and other documents filed across multiple states in federal court.

The following people, all lawful permanent residents, allegedly voted in the 2024 election and at least one other election: Staciann Pollion Davis, 42, of Jamaica; Andre’s Garcia, 64, of Cuba; Eliza M. Moss, 63, of the Philippines; British national Cary Ann Patterson, 59; Sandra Madeline Watson, 59, of Canada; and Pakistani national Arshed Zuberi, 69.

Davis told FBI investigators during interviews this year that she was not a U.S. citizen but still voted in the 2022 and 2024 federal elections, a special agent said in an affidavit. Alabama officials removed her from the state voting list after learning she was not a citizen, the agent said.

Moss told agents in February that someone helped her fill out a voter registration form in 2023 and that person told her she could vote even though she is a lawful permanent resident, according to a court filing. Moss acknowledged voting in 2024. When asked whether that was the first time, she answered, “No, I’ve been voting for a long time.”

Watson registered to vote in Kentucky in 2013, swearing that she was a U.S. citizen, law enforcement said in a filing to a federal court there. She went on to vote in multiple Kentucky elections, and the 2024 federal election, according to voting records obtained by investigators.

Records from Cuyahoga County in Ohio showed that Zuberi voted in at least six elections, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations said in an affidavit to a court.

The following people voted in the November 2024 election even though they are lawful permanent residents and not U.S. citizens: Jamil Ahmad, 50, of Pakistan; Nighat Jamil, 47, of Pakistan; Hacina Saadi, 48, a French national; and Paulo Silva, 54, of Portugal, according to the documents.

Silvia Delgado Phelps, 78, of Peru, and Stanley Walton, 82, of Canada, voted in the 2022 midterm election despite being lawful permanent residents, according to charging documents.

After the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service verified in September that Phelps is not an American citizen, the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office removed Phelps from the state’s voter rolls, according to a court filing.

Dawid Nalepa, 45, a Polish native who authorities said overstayed a visa he received, allegedly voted in November 2024 despite not being an American citizen.

Lizabeth Almonte Rosa, 24, a naturalized U.S. citizen from the Dominican Republic, was charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and illegally procuring citizenship, the Department of Justice said. Details of the charges against her were not clear.

Each count of voting by an alien carries up to one year in prison and a fine.

Two other individuals are accused of violating other voting laws.

Patrick Perea, 62, allegedly cast a ballot by mail in New Mexico in the 2024 election using the name of his deceased wife.

Forrest Scott Woody, 68, voted in Calhoun County, Alabama, in 2024 even after he already voted in the same election in North Carolina, according to charging documents.

Saadi, Ahmad, Jamil, and Nalepa did not have attorneys listed on the court docket. Ahmad was scheduled for a plea agreement hearing on Oct. 14. Jamil’s plea agreement hearing was slated for Nov. 18.

Attorneys representing Silva, Davis, Patterson, Garcia, Moss, Watson, Zuberi, Phelps, Walton, and Perea did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.