Election Fraud Cases

Richard Alarcon

Richard Alarcon, a Los Angeles City Councilman, was convicted of three charges of voter fraud following a jury trial. He lied about where he lived in order to run for office and vote in a different jurisdiction than the place where he actually lived. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail, 600 hours of community service, and five years' probation. He is also banned from running for public office.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l22dw3

Kathleen Knox

In 2014, former auditor-controller candidate Kathleen Knox, who during the campaign pledged to "fight waste and fraud," pleaded no contest to three counts of voter fraud. As a candidate for auditor-controller, Knox put down a false address as her place of residence. She was fined and sentenced to three years of probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3iVoXLC, https://herit.ag/3i73ikj

Roderick Wright

State Sen. Roderick Wright (D_Inglewood) was convicted of eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud. He deliberately misled voters as to his residency in order to run for office in a neighboring district. Wright was sentenced to 90 days' imprisonment, 1,500 hours of community service, and three years' probation. He has also been permanently barred from holding elected office. He was pardoned by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2018.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x9CioH

Vernon, CA

A City Council election (originally decided by four votes) in Vernon, California is overturned when it is determined that five people who voted for the winner were not residents of the city, and two others had not properly mailed in their ballots. A new winner was subsequently named.

Source: https://herit.ag/3761dPs

Ricardo Lopez-Munguia

Ricardo Lopez-Munguia, a Mexican who was deported decades ago for drug trafficking, pleaded guilty to living illegally in Escondido under a false identity and fraudulently voting in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Source: https://herit.ag/2TE5eHH

Angel Perales and David Silva

Officials in the small town of Cudahy took part in a widespread corruption scheme that included accepting cash bribes, abusing drugs at City Hall, and throwing out absentee ballots that favored election challengers. After a lengthy FBI Investigation of the 2007 and 2009 elections, the former head of code enforcement, Angel Perales, admitted to tampering with mail-in ballots in city elections by opening them and then resealing and submitting votes for incumbent candidates while discarding votes for challengers. He and Mayor David Silva pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion charges, although Perales' plea agreement included his admission of election fraud. Silva was sentenced to one year in federal prison. Perales was sentenced to five years' probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3yaLiLo , https://herit.ag/3EcTi14

Ken Mariette

Ken Mariette, former manager of the Mountain Gate Community Services District, pleaded no contest to felony charges of voting and registration fraud. Mariette used his girlfriend's address to register to vote in Mountain Gate in 2004. He then worked for the district before becoming its manager. Mariette was sentenced to 36 months' conditional release and was ordered to serve 30 days in an adult work program.

Source: https://herit.ag/3kYtaRi

James Conway

James Conway was convicted on six charges stemming from his illegal registration to vote: three counts of perjury, two of falsely filing a declaration of candidacy, and one for false registration. Conway was sentenced to time served, given probation, and was ordered to pay restitution.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rDni18

Nativo Lopez

Immigrant-Rights activist Nativo Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of voter registration fraud when it was discovered that he registered to vote in Los Angeles while living in Santa Ana. Lopez had been investigated for voter fraud before. In 1996 his organization registered new citizens to vote in an election that ultimately unseated Republican Rep. Bob Dornan from the 46th District. A House Oversight Committee report later concluded that 748 improper ballots had been cast, 624 of them from non-citizen immigrants. Despite the improperly cast votes, the result of that election was not changed. Lopez was sentenced to three years of probation and 400 hours of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/2UXQ5Bv

Eloise Garcia-Mohsin

Former Palm Springs candidate Eloise Garcia-Mohsin was charged with two counts of voter fraud, three counts of perjury, and four counts of falsely filing election documents after lying about her residence so she could run for office. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the state's election code, was sentenced to 180 hours of community service, and disqualified from seeking or holding public office during a three-year period of probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zybaRQ, https://herit.ag/3BhKAww

Molly Morales

Molly Morales received two mail-in ballots, one addressed to her and the other addressed to "Molly LaPointe." Morales filled out and submitted both ballots in the fall 2009 St. Helena school board election. She pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of voter fraud. Morales was sentenced to three years' probation, 150 hours of community service, a $1,100 fine, and was ordered to pay $4,080 in restitution to Napa County.

Source: https://herit.ag/3BPtyaA

Leonis and Domenica Malburg

Former mayor of Vernon, Leonis Malburg, and his wife, Domenica, were convicted of fraudulent voting and voter registration fraud. Malburg, who had been mayor for 50 years prior to his resignation, and his wife did not live in Vernon and were thus ineligible to vote or to be candidates in that municipality. Leonis was barred from elected office, placed on five years' probation, ordered to pay $183,800 in fines and penalty assessments, and more than $395,000 restitution to the city for salary, benefits, and travel. Domenica received three years' probation and was ordered to pay $36,000 in fines and penalties.

Source: https://herit.ag/3xekybS

Mark Jacoby

Owner of Young Political Majors, Mark Jacoby, pleaded guilty to voter fraud after he registered to vote at a childhood address where he no longer lived and at another address in the same voter precinct. He was sentenced to three years' probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and was ordered to complete 30 days of community service.

Source: bit.ly/2eAp1xV

Don Cornell Williams

Don Cornell Williams pleaded guilty to felony voter fraud charges. While working as a signature gatherer in Orange County, Williams registered an illegal immigrant and two teenagers who were too young to vote. Williams was sentenced to 61 days' in jail and three years' probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3BWXRMS

Christopher Kavanagh

Christopher Kavanagh pleaded no contest to registering to vote in Berkeley when he lived in Oakland. He was sentenced to six months in jail, five years' probation, and was ordered to pay a $10,835 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/30RX55x