Election Fraud Cases

April Atilano

April Atilano, of Monterey County, pleaded guilty to 6 counts of felony voter fraud for falsifying voter registration forms. Atilano falsified a number of voter registration cards by changing party affiliation and forging signatures. The forms were submitted to the Madera County Registrar of Voters in July 2019. Atilano was sentenced to one year in prison and three years probation.

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

Richard Howard

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

Louis Wise

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

Christopher Williams

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

Richard Davis

Richard Davis, of Pacific Grove, registered four dogs (Pfeiffer, Chantarelle, Rocky, and Cooper) and his deceased father to vote between 2013 and 2018. Davis was charged with voter registration fraud. He pled guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation and 48 hours of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l01oUz , https://herit.ag/3i4URpJ

Gustavo Araujo Lerma

Gustavo Araujo Lerma, a Mexican citizen who resides in Sacramento County, illegally assumed the identity of American citizen Hiram Enrique Velez, and illegally voted repeatedly over two decades. Lerma was convicted in federal court of one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of making a false statement on a passport application, and five counts of voting by an alien in a federal election. Lerma, a self-described Republican donor and ardent Trump supporter was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. 

Source: bit.ly/323ErD1, bit.ly/2PgcOVR

Richard Howard

Richard Howard offered homeless people cash and cigarettes in exchange for forging signatures on official petitions using the names and addresses of actual registered voters, in order to qualify several ballot measures. Howard and several others were arrested during an undercover operation. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 3 years of probation.

Source: bit.ly/2Mmxxpe

Alexander Bronson

Alexander Bronson, former Trustee for Manteca Unified School District, California, pleaded guilty to charges of voter fraud. He listed a false address in order to qualify for candidacy in the November 2014 Manteca Unified School District Board of Education election. He resigned from office and is awaiting sentencing.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zLTLoV , https://herit.ag/3jDMv8T

Sam Fant

Sam Fant, a former Manteca Unified School District Trustee, pleaded no contest to a felony voter registration fraud charge. During the 2014 election, Fant provided false addresses to two Manteca school board candidates, Ashley Drain and Alexander Bronson, so they could run despite not meeting residency requirements. Both candidates won, but were ultimately forced to resign and were criminally convicted on election fraud charges. Fant, meanwhile, was sentenced to serve 120 days in county jail and was given five years of probation.

Source: bit.ly/2jMIz9B, bit.ly/2hSSo5w

Ashley Drain Hampton

Ashley Drain Hampton falsified her address in order to appear on the ballot for the Manteca Unified school board elections in 2014. Hampton won her race, but resigned several months after charges were filed. In April 2017, a jury found Hampton guilty of charges that included not only multiple counts of election fraud, but also charges of perjury and defrauding the government in an effort to get more public assistance money than she was entitled to receive. In September of 2018, a judge sentenced Hampton to 15 months in jail, five years of probation, and ordered her to complete 200 hours of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/3vKgOj8, https://herit.ag/3bcrVrz, https://herit.ag/3BWXVMC

James Parke Major

James Parke Major, of Contra Costa County, voted twice in the 2016 primary: once by mail and once in person. The Contra Costa Superior Court directed Major to a pre-trial diversion program and 20 hours of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/375WFZ6, https://herit.ag/3y9duhT, https://herit.ag/3rCDHTu

Jose Fragozo

Jose Fragozo, a trustee on the Escondido Union School District Board, pleaded guilty to a felony charge that he voted in the 2014 general election while registered at an address where he did not live. Investigators determined that while he owned the property at that address, he actually lived at a nearby second home. The two properties lie in different board electoral zones, and California law requires elected officials to reside in the districts they represent. Fargozo claimed the false address as his residence shortly before announcing his candidacy for the board seat in that electoral zone. The remaining charges were dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement, in which Fragozo agreed to resign and not to seek electoral office for three years. The judge sentenced Fragozo to three years of probation, a single day in jail, 15 days of community service, and the payment of a fine and restitution which could total over $28,500.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f0bwZw, https://herit.ag/3BMx4mh

Maria C. Del Toro

In 2014, Maria C. Del Toro received $1,900 to collect signatures for a recall election effort against Salinas City Elementary School District Trustee, Janet Barnes. The recall ultimately failed, but during a random audit, the election department found significant discrepancies in the signatures submitted by Del Toro. She confessed to forging the signatures and pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to 40 days in jail, three years' probation, and had to repay the $1,900.

Source: https://herit.ag/3y9XqfQ

Kevin L. Charvoz

Kevin L. Charvoz, of Contra Costa County, voted twice in the 2016 presidential primary election once by mail and once in person. The Contra Costa Superior Court directed Charvoz to a pre-trial diversion program and 20 hours of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/2TCcHH5, https://herit.ag/3y7VIvi, https://herit.ag/2Vdv5Xt

Jonathan Chan

Jonathan Chan, of Contra Costa County, voted twice in the 2016 primary: once by mail and once in person. The Contra Costa Superior Court directed Chan to a pre-trial diversion program and 20 hours of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rAO5ex , Case No. 07-CR-17-46