Two men have been charged in a mass voter fraud case, the Los Angeles DA announced. They’re accused of submitting more than 8,000 fake voter registrations on behalf of homeless people.
Two men charged for voter fraud in Los Angeles, California
Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, 53, and Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, were charged with 41 counts of various crimes for reportedly submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed that eight counts of voter fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud, four counts of offering a bogus or forged instrument and four misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit have been charged against the couple.
In addition to the above, Montenegro individually faces two counts of perjury, ten counts of voter fraud, seven counts of obtaining and offering a totally bogus or forged instrument, and five misdemeanor counts of interference with the prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.
The accused were trying to get the office of the registrar to send them mail-in ballots for the fake voters. However, no votes were actually ever cast. The registrar quickly caught on and flagged the forms, so no one could actually vote.
8000 fraudulent voter registration applications
According to NBC, more than 8000 fraudulent voter applications submitted between July and October of this year have been discovered by authorities. The charge sheet states that Montenegro was explicitly accused of “falsifying names, addresses and signatures on nomination papers to run for mayor in the city of Hawthorne under punishment of perjury.”
For these crimes, Montenegro faces up to 15 years and eight months in prison. Arevalo is reportedly expected to serve for up to seven years.
According to the press release published by the DA office, the case is under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office, FBI, Covina Police Department and the California Secretary of State’s Office assisted in the initial investigation.
