Election Fraud Cases
Details
Jordahni Rimpel was charged by the state with one felony count of attempt to influence a public servant and one misdemeanor count of perjury after submitting fraudulent signatures for a Republican candidate ballot petition in the 2022 Republican primary for the 7th congressional district. Rimpel was a circulator with the Oregon-based firm Grassfire LLC which was paid to gather the required 1,500 signatures for Republican candidate Carl Anderson to qualify for the ballot. Rimpel submitted petitions with the forged signatures of voters, including deceased voters and voters who had moved out of state prior to the petition being circulated. Rimpel pleaded guilty to both charges and received a two-year deferred judgement and sentence for the felony count. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, fined $500, ordered to pay $3,557.41 for extradition costs, and was made to write letters of apology to the Colorado Secretary of State and Candidate Carl Anderson.
Source: herit.ag/3LqQjYq , herit.ag/4f5ZxHm , herit.ag/469x4wc
Details
Diana Watt was charged by the state with one felony count of attempt to influence a public servant, one misdemeanor count of perjury, and one misdemeanor count of tampering with nominating papers after submitting fraudulent signatures for a candidate ballot petition in the 2022 Republican primary for the 7th congressional district. Watt was a circulator with the Oregon-based firm Grassfire LLC, which was paid to gather the required 1,500 signatures for Republican candidate Carl Andersen to qualify for the ballot. Watt submitted petitions with the forged signatures of voters, including deceased voters and voters who had moved out of state prior to the petition being circulated. She pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of tampering with nominating papers, in exchange for dismissal of the other charges, and was sentenced to 6 months of unsupervised probation (which could be reduced to 90 days if all court costs and fine are paid), and assessed $4,025.41 in court costs and fines.
Source: https://herit.ag/4esixhX
Details
Victor Cuevas, a former Democrat Connecticut State Representative, was charged by the federal government with one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after submitting fraudulent signatures on a candidate ballot petition. Cuevas, who was on federal probation for bank fraud, ran a political consulting business called Yellow Dog Strategies. He was hired by a Democrat candidate to gather 1,000 ballot petition signatures to be eligible to run in the 2017 New Haven Probate Judge primary election. Cuevas and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained ballot petition signatures by forging signatures of registered voters as well as forging the name and signature of a petition circulator to falsely authenticate voter signatures. When Cuevas and his co-conspirators were under investigation by the state election board for their forgery, Cuevas pressured the person whose signature he falsified as a circulator to sign a false affidavit. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge and was sentenced to 8 months in prison, 3 years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $5,750 in restitution as well as a $100 special assessment.
Source: herit.ag/4falG7e , herit.ag/3y2wtQk , herit.ag/3Yevg2S , herit.ag/4676Fis
Details
Devin King was charged by the state with one count of criminal use of personal identification information after fraudulently adding voters’ names and signatures to constitutional amendment ballot petitions. State election officials discovered that King had submitted over 500 forms and contacted law enforcement because the signatures of numerous voters did not match their signatures on file, personal information of voters was wrong, and forms that normally arrived worn looked “pristine.” Officials contacted 10 of the individuals who had supposedly signed the ballot petition forms, all of whom confirmed they had not signed the petitions, nor were they aware that their personal information was being listed on the ballot petition form. Another 10 individuals were deceased. King pleaded guilty to the felony charge and was sentenced to 1 year in prison with credit served for 5 days and fined $1,519 in court costs and fines.
Source: https://herit.ag/3ZoXo1y , https://herit.ag/3GsGG8N , https://herit.ag/3k4AQTH
Details
Jordan Daniels was charged by the state with one felony count of criminal use of personal identification information after fraudulently adding voters’ names and signatures to constitutional amendment ballot petitions. State election officials discovered that Daniels had submitted over 50 forms and contacted law enforcement because the signatures of numerous voters did not match their signatures on file, personal information of voters was wrong, and forms that normally arrived worn looked “pristine.”. Officials contacted 10 of the individuals who had supposedly signed the ballot petition forms, all of whom confirmed they had not signed the petitions, nor were they aware that their personal information was being listed on the ballot petition form. Another 10 individuals were deceased. Daniels pleaded guilty to the felony charge and was sentenced to 10 months in jail, 14 months of probation, 100 hours of community service, $40 per month in supervision costs, and fined $1,669 in court costs and fines.
Source: https://herit.ag/3XiQOI3 , https://herit.ag/3k38pW7 , https://herit.ag/3ZtMjw7 , https://herit.ag/3k1t7Wq
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Rasheen Crews was charged by the state in Philadelphia County with two felony counts of criminal solicitation to commit forgery and theft by failure to make a required disposition of funds received after engaging in a ballot petition signature scheme. Crews, a political consultant in Philadelphia, perpetrated a ballot petition fraud scheme to get his clients listed on the ballot for the May 2019 Democratic primary races. Crews and his employees, acting at his direction, forged thousands of signatures in an effort to obtain the required number of legal signatures needed for his clients to be listed on the ballot. In addition to forging signatures by hand, over 1,000 signatures were photocopied rather than hand-written. Crews pleaded guilty to the two felony counts, was sentenced to 5 years of probation, assessed fines and fees of $761.25, and barred from participating in political campaigns during his probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/49L7bUU , https://herit.ag/46pxHjM , https://herit.ag/49Q0e4P , https://herit.ag/415bsPf
Details
Robert Catron, of Virginia Beach, was charged with 10 felony counts of making false statements and election fraud. Catron, a campaign consultant for U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor, the GOP incumbent running for reelection in 2018 in the 2nd Congressional District of Virginia, signed notarized affidavits falsely claiming that he had witnessed voters signing ballot petitions to qualify Shaun Brown, a Democrat, on the ballot as an Independent in order to take away votes from the Democratic nominee (Taylor’s main opponent). The voters’ signatures were forgeries of deceased individuals and former residents. Catron pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty by an election officer in exchange for dismissal of the other charges and received a three-year suspended sentence with an order to maintain good behavior for one year. He was also assessed $8,301 in fines and court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3MPelNA , https://herit.ag/4e0AW5P , https://herit.ag/3XStZgv , https://herit.ag/47vpKM9 , https://herit.ag/3XPET7I
Details
Kathryn Nestor, of Vienna, was charged with one count of false swearing after signing the names of other registered voters on a mayoral nomination petition during the 2020 Vienna municipal election. Nestor pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to ten days in jail which was suspended, 6 months of probation, and fined $50.
Source: https://herit.ag/3VjqmNz
Details
Heather Gulliot was charged by the state with one felony count of making false statements and election fraud after gathering fraudulent petition signatures. Gulliot, a campaign staffer for U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor, the GOP incumbent running for reelection in 2018 in the 2nd Congressional District of Virginia, signed notarized affidavits falsely claiming that she had witnessed voters signing ballot petitions to qualify Shaun Brown, a Democrat, on the ballot as an Independent in order to take away votes from the Democratic nominee (her boss's main opponent). The signatures were forgeries of deceased individuals and former residents. Gulliot pleaded guilty to an amended misdemeanor count of willful neglect of duty by an election official, and received a one-year suspended sentence, was placed on unsupervised probation for 12 months, and assessed $1,267 in fines and court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3TzRd9N , https://herit.ag/47xh3AQ
Details
Richard Howard was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of subscribing a fictitious name, or the name of another to an initiative petition and registration of a fictitious person. He was sentenced to a suspended sentence of three years and three years of probation.
Source: bit.ly/3kUNeSa, bit.ly/314Q6Us
Details
Louis Wise was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of subscribing a fictitious name, or the name of another to an initiative petition and registration of a fictitious person. He was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 16 months in state prison and three years of formal probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3yf300A, https://herit.ag/3zEg53G
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Christopher Williams was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of circulating an initiative or petition containing false, forged or fictitious names. Williams was sentenced to 3 years’ probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/2WsDEhC, https://herit.ag/3Go5VZb
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Nickey Huntley was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of circulating an initiative or petition containing false, forged or fictitious names. Huntley was sentenced to 3 years’ probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l2W3vQ, https://herit.ag/3i5ACYN
Details
Jentry Jasperson, of Pacifica, forged signatures for a referendum iniative and paid a $5 fee per signature. She was reported to have forged over 100 signatures, most of which were actual country residents. Peterson was charged with 10 counts of perjury by declaration, 5 counts of identity theft, and 5 counts of signing fictious or forged names to a petition. She pleaded guilty to 2 counts of perjury by declaration, a felony, and was sentenced to 2 years in county jail.
Source: https://herit.ag/3f0bT6m, https://herit.ag/3761kKS, Case no. 18-NF-002566-B
Details
Bradley Jasperson, of Pacifica, forged signatures for a referendum initiative and was paid a $5 fee per signature. He was reported to have forged over 100 signatures, most of which were actual country residents. Peterson was charged with 10 counts of perjury by declaration, 5 counts of identity theft, and 5 counts of signing of fictious or forged name to petition. He pleaded guilty to 2 counts of perjury by declaration, a felony, and was sentenced to 2 years in county jail.
Source: bit.ly/38Zlvtc , bit.ly/32qs5pX, Case no. 18-NF-002566-A
Key & Definitions
Types of Cases
Any case that results in a defendant entering a plea of guilty or no contest, or being found guilty in court of election-related offenses.
A finding by a court of law that fraud occurred in an election, including judicial orders overturning election results or ordering a new election due to fraud.
Any civil case resulting in fines or other penalties imposed for a violation of election laws.
A finding by a government body that fraud occurred in an election, including orders overturning election results or ordering a new election due to fraud.
Any criminal case in which a judge directs a defendant into a pre-trial diversion program, or stays or defers adjudication with the understanding that the conviction will be cleared upon completion of the program.
Types of Voter Fraud
Requesting absentee ballots and voting without the knowledge of the actual voter; or obtaining the absentee ballot from a voter and either filling it in directly and forging the voter’s signature or illegally telling the voter who to vote for.
Illegal registration and voting by individuals who are not U.S. citizens, are convicted felons, or are otherwise not eligible to vote.
Voting in the name of other legitimate voters and voters who have died, moved away, or lost their right to vote because they are felons, but remain registered.
Paying voters to cast either an in-person or absentee ballot for a particular candidate.
Forging the signatures of registered voters on the ballot petitions that must be filed with election officials in some states for a candidate or issue to be listed on the official ballot
Registering in multiple locations and voting in the same election in more than one jurisdiction or state.
Voting under fraudulent voter registrations that either use a phony name and a real or fake address or claim residence in a particular jurisdiction where the registered voter does not actually live and is not entitled to vote.
Changing the actual vote count either in a precinct or at the central location where votes are counted.
Forcing or intimidating voters—particularly the elderly, disabled, illiterate, and those for whom English is a second language—to vote for particular candidates while supposedly providing them with “assistance.”
