Election Fraud Cases
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
Jonathan Meade West, Sr., of Hayes, was charged with a felony for attempting to cast two ballots in the 2020 general election. West first voted absentee at the Gloucester County Voter Register's office. He then returned four days later and tried to cast a second ballot. He was stopped from casting a second ballot when the election worker checked his information using a back-up to the VERIS (Virginia Election Registration Information System) system since it was not working that day. He was convicted of an amended misdemeanor charge of obtaining services under false pretense after attempting to vote twice. West, a self-described "unabashed conservative," was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 12 months, fined $500, and ordered to pay $96 in court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/375VNDP, https://herit.ag/3f2SNN0
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
Lauren C. Peabody, of Virginia Beach, worked as a campaign staffer for the GOP candidate in the 2nd Congressional District of VA. In that role, she signed off on petition signatures, that she did not witness, to get 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. She was charged with two counts of election fraud and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of "willful neglect of election duty." She received a 12-month suspended sentence based on a year of good behavior and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BMDxh2
Details
Roberta Lucia Maricano was charged by the state with one felony count of making false statements and election fraud after gathering fraudulent petition signatures. Maricano, a campaign staffer for U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor, the GOP incumbent running for reelection in 2018 in the 2nd Congressional District of Virgnia, 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. She pleaded guilty to an amended misdemeanor count of election official willful neglect of duty, received a one-year suspended sentence, paid a fine and cost of $1,267, and was placed on 12 months of unsupervised probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/47wLbMC , https://herit.ag/3Bm3OH5 , https://herit.ag/3MNLF7M
Details
Richard Douglas Dohmen, of James City County, committed voter fraud when he attempted to cast ballots for both himself and his dead wife in a 2018 state election. Dohmen was charged with forging public records and making false statements on required forms, and pleaded guilty to making false statements on required forms. He was sentenced to 1 year in the penitentiary, 3 years of unsupervised probation, and was ordered to pay a $458 fine.
Source: Case Number: CR19028447-00, https://herit.ag/3x2tbWI
Details
Cassandra Ritter, a felon convicted on heroin distribution charges, cast a ballot despite being an ineligible voter due to her prior conviction. Ritter pleaded guilty and received a suspended two-year prison sentence and two years of supervised probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i71YxX
Details
Shaun Brown, a candidate for the Virginia 2nd Congressional District, was removed from the ballot in the lead-up to the 2018 election after a judge ruled that signatures on the petition to get her on the ballot had been forged. Brown, who ran and lost as a Democrat in 2016, was running as an Independent. Democrats in Virginia filed the suit against Brown, claiming that Republican incumbent Representative Scott Taylor's campaign hoped to get Brown on the ballot to bolster Taylor's own re-election chances. All of the petition signatures submitted by Taylor's staff were thrown out due to errors and forgeries. Brown appealed, but the Virginia Supreme Court upheld her removal from the ballot. An investigation into the alleged forgeries by Taylor campaign staff is ongoing. In the midst of the election drama, Brown was convicted on unrelated charges that she defrauded a federal program intended to serve summer meals to children.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l3HxUq, https://herit.ag/3xbrxC6, https://herit.ag/3zGQyXI
Details
Vafalay Massaquoi pleaded guilty to one count of falsifying voter registration applications and two counts of forging a public record. While working for New Virginia Majority, a liberal advocacy group, Massaquoi filed voter applications for completely made-up Alexandria residents. An Alexandria official noticed the voter applications were all filled out in the same handwriting and turned the documents over to the authorities. Massaquoi was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for each count. His sentences were set to run concurrently and will be suspended pending his good behavior. He was also sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/373qeut, https://herit.ag/3rB1R0L
Details
Andrew Spieles pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his submission of eighteen fraudulent voter registrations in connection with the 2016 presidential election. While working for Harrisonburg Votes, a voter registration organization affiliated with the Democratic Party, Spieles falsified voter registration information. In some cases, he registered deceased individuals. In others, he fabricated information about residents so he could submit applications without their approval. Spieles was sentenced to 100 days' imprisonment.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rAyATU, https://herit.ag/3y9dz5b, https://herit.ag/3ba1QcC
Details
Mary P. Taylor was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of "communicating false information to registered voters." Taylor, a critic of the Hampton school board, designed a fake website registered in the name of Ann Stephens Cherry, a candidate for the board, which endorsed incumbent Martha Mugler. On the website, Taylor posted a fake election date that fell one week after the real election. The Judge sentenced Taylor to 100 hours of community service and imposed a $1,000 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i9HGUB, https://herit.ag/3iQEb4t
Details
William "Billy" Everett Mills, Jr.
When Billy Mills ran for sheriff in Nelson County, he submitted a candidate qualification form with an address in that county. It was later uncovered that Mills did not live at the address he provided and was not a resident of Nelson County. This was a clear violation of state law that requires all members of government to be residents in the district over which they preside. Mills was originally charged with a Class 5 felony. As part of a plea deal, it was reduced to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to six month suspended sentence.
Source: bit.ly/2evkZsS
Details
Stephen Hales, of Albemarle, a convicted felon and an ineligible voter, was convicted of voting in a 2014 state election. Hales plead guilty to charges of providing a false statement on a required form and wrongful voting. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay an $86 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/373gEb1, Case Number: GC15007564-00
Details
Gregory John Briehl, of Albemarle, a convicted felon and an ineligible voter, was convicted of making a false statement on his voting records. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay an $86 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/2URz6kg, Case Number: GC15007564-00
Details
Adam Ward, an employee of the Gingrich presidential campaign, pleaded guilty to 36 counts of voter fraud, as well as perjury after admitting that he forged signatures during the drive to get Gingrich on the Virginia primary ballot. Out of 11,000 signatures collected by Ward, 4,000 could not be confirmed.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BiWOFc
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.”
