Election Fraud Cases
Calvin Borders, Jr., along with his son, daughter, and his son's girlfriend, registered to vote using a vacant lot on Jefferson Street in Brooklyn, Illinois. None of them lived in the city. After an investigation by the Public Corruption Task Force, he pleaded guilty to perjury in violation of the election code and was sentenced to probation with special conditions.
Source: https://herit.ag/3CjaWjl, https://herit.ag/3GmY4ek
Jesse Johnson was convicted of voting twice in the 2016 primary elections, once for a Republican and once for a Democrat. Johnson, who had previously been convicted on weapons and drug charges, was charged with perjury after the St. Clair County Public Corruption Task Force detected his effort to vote twice. Johnson was convicted and, owing to his prior criminal record, was sentenced to two years in Illinois state prison.
Source: https://herit.ag/3nozWza, https://herit.ag/3mhjmlA
Calvin Borders III, along with his father, sister, and girlfriend, registered to vote using a vacant lot on Jefferson Street in Brooklyn, Illinois. None of them lived in the city. Borders III pleaded guilty to perjury and was sentenced to probation with special conditions.
Source: https://herit.ag/3jCSf2J, https://herit.ag/30XIy8t
Candice Borders, along with her father, brother, and her brother's girlfriend, registered to vote using a vacant lot on Jefferson Street in Brooklyn, Illinois. None of them lived in the city. Candace Borders pleaded guilty to forgery and was sentenced to probation with special conditions.
Source: https://herit.ag/2XMpvgh, https://herit.ag/2ZoOHuc
Janie Walker, along with her boyfriend, his father, and his sister, registered to vote using a vacant lot on Jefferson Street in Brooklyn, Illinois. None of them lived in the city. Janie Walker pleaded guilty to forgery and is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i7JpK4, https://herit.ag/3BWY2Yy, https://herit.ag/3iXLDeh
Marcello Villaruz and his wife Gina claimed to be U.S. citizens when they voted in the 2016 presidential election. Marcello was charged with two felony counts of perjury, but, as part of a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. Marcello Villaruz was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to pay a $200 fine and to complete 20 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rAO2za, bit.ly/2zfRy7E
Gina Villaruz and her husband Marcello claimed to be U.S. citizens when they voted in the 2016 presidential election. Gina was charged with two felony counts of perjury, but, as part of a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. Gina Villaruz was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to pay a $200 fine and to complete 20 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3Ccqm8V, https://herit.ag/30Xa1Hj
Yvette Yust, a resident of Waukegan, claimed to be a citizen in order to vote in the 2016 presidential election. Yust was charged with two felony counts of perjury, but, as part of a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. Yust was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to pay a $200 fine and to complete 20 hours of community service.
Source: trib.in/2zdkpt9, bit.ly/2zfRy7E
Thomas Rudd, a former coroner in Lake County, Illinois, was charged with five felony counts of perjury for making false statements on nominating petitions for his 2016 re-election. Rudd signed the petitions, falsely indicating he had been personally present when voters signed them, and later made the same claim under oath. Prosecutors alleged that 15-20 petition signatures were falsified, including one in the name of a person who had been dead for over 10 years. The felony charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal, and Rudd pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges of disregard of the election code. He was given 24 months of probation, ordered to pay two $5,000 fines, and was barred from public employment for five years.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l35VFS, bit.ly/2vLytJc
Janet Pokryfke voted twice in the November 2016 election. She entered an Alford. Per her plea agreement, she was convicted of one misdemeanor count of disregarding the election code while two felony double voting charges and one perjury charge were dropped. Pokryfke was sentenced to six months of probation, and was ordered to complete 20 hours of community service and pay a $200 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3jFZI14
During her 2017 campaign for the High School District 128 board, Ellen Mauer signed four nomination petitions to be placed on the ballot as a candidate, falsely claiming she was present when voters signed them. Mauer initially faced felony perjury charges, but a plea deal saw those charges reduced to misdemeanor counts of disregard of the election code. Mauer pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of court supervision, and was ordered to complete 75 hours of public service, pay a $750 fine, and make a $250 donation to the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center.
Source: https://herit.ag/3mggMfO, https://herit.ag/2ZqWfN0
Denise Zwit, assistant to the High School District 128 Superintendant, signed three nomination petitions for school board president Patrick Groody, falsely claiming she was present when voters signed them. Zwit initially faced felony perjury charges, but a plea deal saw those charges reduced to misdemeanor counts of disregard of the election code. Zwit pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of court supervision, and was ordered to complete 75 hours of public service, pay a $750 fine, and make a $250 donation to the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center.
Source: https://herit.ag/3pEpl6f, https://herit.ag/2Zo3oNo
Miguel Valencia-Sandoval, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, admitted that he paid $50,000 in March 2005 for the birth certificate of a Texas man, Ramiro Guerrero-Vasquez. Using that stolen identity, he resided in Champaign County, IL for the past eleven years. His false identity was discovered when he applied for a U.S. passport in 2012 and made a false statement of U.S. citizenship on the application. Further investigation revealed he similarly made a false claim of citizenship on a voter registration application and voted in elections in 2012, 2014, and 2016. Valencia-Sandoval pleaded guilty to five counts, four of which relate to voting while not a citizen. After spending a year in jail following his apprehension for trying to illegally re-enter the United States, he was sentenced to time served in January 2018. He will be deported back to Mexico.
Source: https://herit.ag/373gEI3, https://herit.ag/3zIkrGU, https://herit.ag/3y9ytBa, https://herit.ag/3rAHy3o
Steveland Kidd pleaded guilty to two counts of violating absentee ballots during a municipal election in April 2013. Kidd took possession of, and delivered, an absentee ballot to election authorities despite not being legally allowed to do so. The crime is a Class Three felony. Kidd was sentenced to 12 days in the St. Clair County Jail and is now barred from engaging in campaign-related activities or electioneering.
Source: https://herit.ag/3750cqQ, https://herit.ag/3rDnvBs
Brian McDouglar, a resident of Cahokia, Illinois, was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of falsifying or tampering with an absentee ballot, a class 3 felony. McDouglar illegally took an absentee ballot from a voter he was not related to and then placed that ballot in the mail.
Source: https://herit.ag/3761gL8, https://herit.ag/3eYmJtt, https://herit.ag/3BPBDft
Marvin Hershman, of Lake County, voted twice in the 2016 general election. Hershman was charged with two counts of voting more than once and one count of perjury. He took a plea of convenience (nolo contendere) of disregarding election code and was sentenced to four months' imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of $657.
Source: https://herit.ag/370bgWa, Case Number: 18CF00000538
Audrey Cook, a Madison County election judge, sent in a ballot marked for Donald Trump in the 2016 election on behalf of her recently deceased husband. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted violation of the election code in exchange for dropping a felony perjury charge.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i4wdW6, https://herit.ag/3l1p4aZ, https://herit.ag/3x95kEW
Brian McDouglar was convicted of falsifying or tampering with an absentee ballot. He was sentenced to two years in prison for the Class C felony.
Source: https://herit.ag/3y83Goj, https://herit.ag/3rDnspg
Augustus Stacker, Jr., of Belleville, Illinois, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of a violation of absentee ballots. He assisted in manipulating up to 27 fraudulent absentee ballots in a municipal election. Stacker was sentenced to 18 months of conditional discharge and required to pay court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3zLTEcZ, Case #13CF0066301
Pamela Bryant, of Cahokia, pleaded guilty to three counts of incorrectly marking an absentee ballot. She received probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/375VM2J
Monica LaPlant, of Cahokia, was charged with incorrectly marking an absentee ballot in the 2013 election. She was given probation after pleading guilty.
Source: https://herit.ag/2VgR4g8
Maria Azada, an illegal alien from the Philippines living in Illinois, was convicted of eleven charges--perjury and mutilation of election material--in relation to illegal voting. Despite being ineligible, Azada voted nine different times in various elections and claimed to be a U.S. citizen on two voter registration forms. She was sentenced to 120 days in jail, two years' conditional discharge, and 100 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3zBqYmK
In 2012, Joan Fortner pleaded guilty to voting twice in Illinois. She was sentenced to a period of supervised release.
Source: https://herit.ag/2UXZNDU
Mahmoud Vakili, an Iranian citizen living in Waukegan, Illinois, pleaded guilty to disregarding the election code after he registered to vote and voted five times, despite the fact that he is not a U.S. citizen and is therefore not eligible to vote. He was sentenced to 12 months of supervision and 100 hours of community service, and was required to pay court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iTfUdZ
Parvin Vakili, an Iranian citizen living in Waukegan, Illinois, pleaded guilty to disregarding the election code after she registered to vote and voted seven times despite the fact that she was not a U.S. citizen and was therefore not eligible to vote. She was sentenced to 12 months' supervision and 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3f1dDwn
Michael Collins was convicted of election fraud and tax evasion after giving a false address to establish eligibility to vote in East St. Louis, even though he lived in Swansea. He was also elected to be a precinct committeeman in East St. Louis after getting family members to sign petitions to get him on the ballot. He was sentenced to 50 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Source: https://herit.ag/3ymcvet
Anish Eapen, a city streets and sanitation superintendent in Chicago's 50th ward, pleaded guilty to absentee ballot violations. He approached residents of his ward while showing them his town badge, offered to help them cast absentee ballots, and filled out some of their ballots himself while working for an alderman candidate. Eapen was sentenced to 364 days in Cook County jail.
Source: https://herit.ag/2VcrLvx, https://herit.ag/2VgEuNX
Kyle R. Johnson, a former Cahokia village trustee, falsified absentee ballot applications and illegally cast the ballots he obtained during a municipal election. He received five years' probation, 14 days in jail, and 200 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rDnu0m, https://herit.ag/3761ime
Armando Ramos, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to absentee ballot violations in 2010. He had approached residents, offered to help them vote absentee, and in some cases filled out ballots for them during a 2007 election in which he was working for an alderman candidate. He was sentenced to 270 days in Cook County jail.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BLlZ4W, https://herit.ag/3iZz2Y2
In the 2009 Cahokia municipal election, former village trustee Trevon L. Tompkin falsified absentee ballot applications and illegally voted the ballots he obtained. He received five years' probation, 14 days in jail, and 200 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3f22fQy, https://herit.ag/3BMDtxO
Kevin Wiggins, of Cahokia, pleaded guilty to 43 charges against him in a voter fraud scheme in Cahokia's 2009 municipal election. Wiggins, along with candidates for the village board, filed fraudulent applications for absentee ballots and subsequently voted using those ballots. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, two years of probation, and 200 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/2Wi174U, https://herit.ag/3ydNSAo
William Brown, of Cahokia, pleaded guilty to 22 charges related to election fraud after he worked with candidates for the Cahokia village board to rig their 2009 municipal election. Brown helped to apply for fraudulent absentee ballots and submit votes using those ballots. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, two years probation, and 200 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iOfQfA, https://herit.ag/3i9u9fM
Eugene Kryczka, of Antioch, pleaded guilty to perjury in 2009. He had falsified 50 signatures on a ballot petition, in an attempt to run for Antioch town assessor. He also signed certifications in 19 of these cases, asserting that he had seen these individuals sign the petitions, when in fact, he had not. Kryczka was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence, two years' probation, and a $500 fine. He was barred from holding public office.
Source: https://herit.ag/3f4Y0no, https://herit.ag/3BLlZSu
Kenneth Davison and Jerry D. Knight, two campaign workers for state Senator Terry Link, were indicted on felony forgery and perjury charges for placing phony signatures on petitions to get state Senator Terry Link on the 2008 Democratic primary ballot. These phony signatures included the names of deceased voters. Davidson pleaded guilty to nine counts of perjury and was sentenced to probation and 60 days in jail. Knight pleaded guilty to 11 counts of perjury and was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 100 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i30STL, https://herit.ag/3l2VTVg, https://herit.ag/3x5db6h
Margarita Del Pilar Fitzpatrick is a native and citizen of Peru who became a non-citizen permanent resident in 2004. When she applied for a driver's license, Fitzpatrick also filled out a "Motor Voter" registration form on which she falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. She subsequently voted in the 2006 federal election. In 2007, while applying for naturalization, Fitzpatrick acknowledged to immigration officials that she had registered and voted. Fitzpatrick's application was denied and she was ordered removed from the country because of this violation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i4ocAG, https://herit.ag/3l1MWLR, https://herit.ag/3xbrupU
Anthony Kimani, a citizen of Kenya, illegally registered and voted in the 2004 general election. Kimani first entered the United States on a visitor's visa, which expired in 2000. He remained in the country illegally, later applying for permanent residency after marrying a U.S. citizen in 2003. Kimani was ordered deported after officials discovered his illegal vote. Kimani admitted to voting, but claimed "entrapment by estoppel," specifically indicating that the form he filled out for a driver's license included an option to register to vote. The three judge panel on the Seventh Circuit rejected the argument, pointing out that Kimani had falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on that form, and affirmed his deportation.
Source: https://herit.ag/377vBZH, https://herit.ag/2ZoOFm4
McCulloch, a political consultant working on the reelection campaign of Milton Township Assessor James Gumm, was convicted of three counts of perjury and one count of disregard of the election code. McCulloch oversaw a scheme that forged signatures to qualify Gumm for the ballot. He received two years' probation, 150 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $200 to a county anti-crime fund.
Source: https://herit.ag/3x7VPFY, https://herit.ag/3zBqKfo
East Saint Louis City precinct committeemen Charles Powell, Sheila Thomas, Jesse Lewis, and Kelvin Ellis, as well as precinct worker Yvette Johnson, were convicted for conspiracy to commit election fraud after participating in vote-buying activities in the 2004 election, including submitting budgets that would allow city funds to pay voters to vote for Democratic candidates. Powell was sentenced to 21 months in prison; Thomas was sentenced to 18 months in prison, $400 in fines, and two years' supervised release; Johnson was sentenced to two years' probation with the first five months in monitored home confinement; Lewis was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years' supervised release, and $200 in fines; Ellis was sentenced to a 4.5 year prison sentence for election fraud and assorted criminal offenses, including running a prostitution ring out of city hall and threatening to kill a federal witness.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l9XAjo, https://herit.ag/3i8YTxu
Elizabeth Dag Um Keathley came to the United States after marrying John Keathley, a U.S. citizen, in a ceremony that took place in the Philippines. She received a non-immigrant K-3 visa so that she could live with her husband while waiting for a grant of permanent residency as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. While considering her application, immigration officials determined that Keathley illegally voted and ordered her removal from the country. She contends that, when applying for a driver's license, she was asked if she wished to vote. After answering "yes," the official handling her driver's license application check marked the box indicating she was a U.S. citizen. Keathley indicated she was not. The Seventh Circuit remanded the case to the lower court for further review.
Source: https://herit.ag/3zIBE3a, https://herit.ag/3y7GZkc, https://herit.ag/3nsE41b
Following a trial, Illinois State Representative Patricia Bailey was found guilty of filing false election forms claiming her residency in the 6th District, when she was actually living with her mother outside of the district. Bailey was charged with two counts of perjury and one count of falsifying election documents. She was sentenced two years' probation and 100 hours of community service. She was barred from holding a government job for five years upon completion of her sentence.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iS6OOE, https://herit.ag/3BLIVkm
A former election judge, Leander Brooks, pleaded guilty to election fraud in the 2002 election. He forged signatures of three dead people on absentee ballot applications. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $400 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3f2YDhs, Docket # 03-CR-30201-DRH
Patricia Deganutti was found guilty of violating Illinois absentee ballot law by "unlawful observation of voting." While serving as a precinct captain in Cicero, Illinois, she visited a voter's home and persuaded him to apply for an absentee ballot, then returned and told him how to fill it out, and left with the completed ballot. She was sentenced to 18 months' probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3kZqq63, https://herit.ag/2TG2nxW
Leroy Scott Jr., Lillie Nichols, Terrance R. Stith, and Sandra Stith pleaded guilty to one count each of vote buying. They were given funds from the St. Clair County Democratic Committee in order to buy votes for the upcoming election. Nichols and Mr. Stith were sentenced to four months in prison. Sandra Stith received one year of probation. Scott received 10 months' imprisonment and paid $3,100 in fines.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BL5sOk
Russel Withers, who owned multiple radio and TV stations, pleaded guilty to voting multiple times in both 1998 and 2000 elections in both Colorado and Illinois. He was fined $10,000.
Source: https://herit.ag/2V8DMSJ
A DOJ investigation of the Illinois election in 1982 estimated that 100,000 fraudulent ballots were cast in the gubernatorial primary. The investigation was tipped off by a party worker from Chicago's 39th Ward who was upset by his precinct captain's broken promise to award him a city job for his participation in the vote fraud scheme. The conspirators cast ballots for people who were elderly and disabled. The investigation resulted in 63 individuals being convicted, the largest voter fraud case in DOJ history.
Source: https://herit.ag/2WlQWw9