By Samuel López | USA Herald

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced federal charges Monday involving 16 people accused of election crimes across the United States, with allegations ranging from noncitizen voting to attempting to cast a dead spouse’s absentee ballot.

The cases span New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Missouri, Idaho, New Jersey, Ohio, Hawaii and Kentucky. They are separate prosecutions, not allegations of a single coordinated election-fraud operation.

One of the most unusual cases comes from New Mexico.

Patrick Perea, 62, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of fraudulent voting. DOJ says Perea attempted to cast his deceased wife’s absentee ballot during the November 2024 general election by submitting it to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Bureau of Elections in Albuquerque.

In Pennsylvania, four people were charged with voting by an alien during the 2024 election: Hacina Saadi, a French national; Jamil Ahmad and Nighat Jamil, both Pakistani nationals; and Paulo Silva, a Portuguese national and lawful permanent resident.

Two more lawful permanent residents face charges in Alabama. DOJ alleges Peruvian national Silvia Delgado Phelpsvoted in multiple Baldwin County elections despite not being a U.S. citizen, while Jamaican national Staciann Pollion Davis allegedly voted in Clarke County during the November 2024 general election.

Another Alabama prosecution concerns something different — alleged double voting.

Forrest Scott Woody, 68, of North Carolina, is accused of voting in Henderson County, North Carolina, and then voting again in Calhoun County, Alabama, during the same 2024 general election.

The Missouri case reaches much further back.

Federal prosecutors charged Cuban national Andre’s Garcia, a lawful permanent resident, with two counts involving the 2022 and 2024 federal elections. DOJ alleges Garcia falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in 2004 and again in 2013 and has voted in at least 15 elections over approximately 20 years, including at least 13 federal elections.

Other defendants include Canadian national Stanley Walton in Idaho and Canadian national Sandra Madeline Watson in Kentucky.

In New Jersey, naturalized U.S. citizen Lizabeth Almonte Rosa faces charges of voting by an alien in a federal election and unlawfully procuring citizenship. DOJ says she was not yet a citizen when she was registered to vote.

Ohio accounts for three additional cases.

British national Cary Ann Patterson allegedly voted in at least 10 elections while not a citizen. Pakistani national Arshed Zuberi allegedly voted in at least six elections after voter-registration forms bearing his signature declared that he was a U.S. citizen.

Filipino national Eliza M. Moss is also accused of voting while not a citizen. Her criminal complaint contains an additional detail: DOJ says Moss told investigators that the person who helped complete her registration told her she could vote despite not being a citizen.

Polish national Dawid Nalepa faces a separate case in Hawaii involving an alleged vote in the November 2024 general election.

The announcement comes amid a broader federal election-enforcement push. DOJ announced another group of 16 election-crime cases on October 5, and on September 30 announced indictments against 10 foreign nationals accused of voter fraud in Minnesota.

The new prosecutions establish that federal authorities are pursuing individual election-crime cases across multiple jurisdictions. They do not, by themselves, establish widespread or coordinated fraud or demonstrate that any alleged illegal votes changed the result of an election.

And none of the defendants announced Monday has been convicted merely because charges were filed. As DOJ itself emphasized, complaints, indictments and information contain accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

About the Author

Samuel López is a USA Herald reporter and news correspondent with more than two decades of experience working in the legal sector. His background includes analyzing state and federal litigation, court filings and complex legal matters, experience he brings to USA Herald’s coverage of federal prosecutions, government enforcement and the courts.