The U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against 16 individuals across the country involving allegations of illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related election offenses, according to a press release issued on Oct. 12, 2026.
The nationwide charges encompass various alleged offenses, including voting by non-citizens in federal elections, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or cast a ballot, voting on behalf of deceased individuals, casting multiple ballots in a single election, making false statements on citizenship applications, and the unlawful procurement of citizenship.
According to court filings and public disclosures from the Justice Department, the defendants include both U.S. citizens and non-citizens holding various legal statuses.
Among those charged:
* Patrick Perea, 62, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of fraudulent voting.
* Forrest Scott Woody, 68, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, was charged with illegally voting more than once in the same election.
* Hacina Saadi, 48, identified as an illegal alien from France, was charged by information with voting as a non-citizen during the 2024 election.
* Jamil Ahmad, 50, a Pakistani national and lawful permanent resident, was charged by information with voting as a non-citizen in the 2024 election.
* Paulo Silva, 54, a Portuguese national and lawful permanent resident, was charged by information with voting as a non-citizen in the 2024 election.
* Silvia Delgado Phelps, 78, a Peruvian national and lawful permanent resident, was charged via criminal complaint with voting as a non-citizen.
* Staciann Pollion Davis, 42, a Jamaican national and lawful permanent resident, was charged via criminal complaint with voting as a non-citizen.
* Stanley Walton, 82, a Canadian national and lawful permanent resident, was charged with unlawfully voting in the 2022 general election while not a U.S. citizen.
Long-term non-citizen voting allegations were also detailed in federal filings. Andre’s Garcia, 64, a Cuban national and lawful permanent resident, was charged with two counts of illegally voting in federal elections in November 2022 and November 2024. Justice Department documents state that Garcia registered to vote in 2004 and again in 2013 despite knowing he was not a U.S. citizen. Investigators allege Garcia voted regularly over the past 20 years in at least 15 elections, including at least 13 federal elections.
In another matter, Lizabeth Almonte Rosa, 24, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic, was charged by criminal complaint with voting as a non-citizen in a federal election and unlawfully procuring citizenship. Court documents allege Rosa was not a citizen at the time she registered to vote.
Analysis:
The charges reflect an increased federal focus on auditing voter rolls and investigating non-citizen voting and double voting across multiple election cycles, stretching from 2004 through the 2024 federal elections. While the federal indictments and criminal complaints allege systematic violations by specific individuals, the cases focus on individual acts of fraudulent registration and unlawful voting rather than coordinated conspiracy schemes. The inclusion of charges involving the unlawful procurement of citizenship indicates that federal prosecutors are linking voter registration records directly with immigration and naturalization background checks to identify prospective violations.
Sources
[US Department of Justice News](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-charges-involving-16-individuals-election-crimes)
Source: US Department of Justice News
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Story synopsis gathered from: US Department of Justice News — source
