Two Charged with Fraudulently Submitting Registration Docs on Behalf of Homeless
Pair arrested in California over application fraud scam
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Two people have been charged with fraudulently submitting registration applications on behalf of homeless people in Los Angeles, according to reports.
The pair was arrested on election fraud charges after more than 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications were allegedly submitted.
One of the suspects arrested in the voter fraud case is a former potential mayoral candidate, NBC 4 Los Angeles reported on Tuesday.
Between July and October, 53-year-old Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, A.K.A. Mark Anthony Gonsalves, allegedly submitted thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications.
He allegedly falsified names, addresses, and signatures on nomination papers under penalty of perjury to run for mayor in Hawthorne.
Montenegro and his co-defendant Marcos Raul Arevalo “were trying to get the registrar’s office to send them mail-in ballots for the fake voters," according to the report.
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"No votes were ever actually cast,” the report adds.
"The registrar caught on quickly and flagged the applications so nobody actually voted."
Montenegro and Arevalo were charged in a 41-count criminal complaint filed last week, according to NBC 4.
The pair faces one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud, eight counts of voter fraud, four counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, and four misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Montenegro is also facing an additional 10 counts of voter fraud, seven counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, two counts of perjury, and five misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.
According to the prosecutor in court, the fraud efforts were being funded by the violent Mexican criminal gang MS-13.
The gang allegedly wanted to put Montenegro in an elected official position to their benefit.
Montenegro faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, while Arevalo faces up to seven years.
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According to the California Secretary of State website, there were 20,660,465 people registered to vote state-wide as of February 2020.
Of those registered, 9,361,582 were registered with the Democrat Party, 4,937,986 were registered Republicans, and 5,181,791 were registered with no party preference.
About 31.5 million people live in the state, and 25,251,216 are eligible to vote.
