Ten noncitizens indicted on election fraud charges after California crackdown
Ten alleged noncitizens were indicted on federal election fraud charges Wednesday in the latest wave of prosecutions stemming from what authorities have called the largest voter fraud takedown in California history.The indictments bring the number of defendants charged in the sprawling Southern California investigation to 28, with prosecutors accusing the suspects of illegally registering to vote and casting ballots despite allegedly falsely claiming to be US citizens.Among those indicted Wednesday were Alexander Muñoz and four others arrested Oct.19, three defendants who had previously appeared in court and two alleged fraudsters who remain on the run.Top Los Angeles prosecutor Bill Essayli took to social media to trumpet the court wins.“Our work continues,” Essyali wrote on X.
“Today, a federal grand jury returned 10 indictments against noncitizens who registered and voted in California elections as part of Operation Protect the Vote.”Muñoz was among those arrested in October, with Homeland Security Investigations agents swooping on the Belizean national’s City of Commerce home around 6 a.m.The California Post was there as agents swiftly took Muñoz into custody.One family member at the scene mocked the armed officers as they led him away, taunting: “You all need to get a job.”Prosecutors allege Muñoz fraudulently registered to vote in September 2019 by claiming he was a US citizen.
He then allegedly cast ballots in the 2020 election, twice in 2022 and again in 2024.Another defendant indicted Wednesday was Muhammad Khan, 50, of Anaheim, a Pakistani national accused of submitting a ballot while falsely claiming US citizenship.Ana Domínguez, 60, a Salvadoran national living in Long Beach, was also indicted.Prosecutors allege she fraudulently registered to vote in July 2006 and later lied on naturalization paperwork in March by claiming she had never registered.Domínguez, José Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz and Jesús Narez-Madrigal were among those a...