Two Nigerians are among seven persons arrested in the United States (US) for allegedly illegally voting in past elections in the global superpower and for naturalization offence.
One of them was paraded before Fox News crew.
They were all indicted.
Indictments and complaints are allegations and defendants are constitutionally presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas disclosed news of the arrests and indictments in a statement, sighted by People&Politics Tuesday night.
The paper’s checks on the Attorney’s official website showed that the two Nigerians, a female and a male, were named as 67-year-old Helen Sayen Adams and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, whose age was put at 27.
The statement profiled the duo thus: “Helen Sayen Adams, is a 67-year-old citizen of Nigeria and lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder) since May 2024, is charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and false statement of citizenship in order to register to vote.
“Adams allegedly falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on a Texas Voter Registration Application in June 2024 and voted in the November 2024 general election in Tarrant County. She later admitted she was not a U.S. citizen.”
On the male, it stated: “Akpom is a 27-year-old citizen of Nigeria and lawful permanent resident since 2016, charged with false statements in relation to naturalization. As alleged, Akpom falsely denied on his 2026 naturalization application that he had ever claimed U.S. citizenship, registered to vote, or voted, despite registering in 2017 and voting in the 2018 general election. Due to the five‑year statute of limitations, prosecutors relied on the naturalization offense rather than the voting conduct.”
The US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould, announced that the seven, whom he described as non‑citizens, have been charged for unlawfully voting in federal elections or falsely claiming US citizenship.
Six defendants were indicted on 10 September, while the seventh was charged by criminal complaint on 11 September.
Federal agents arrested one defendant on 11 September and five defendants on 14 September. One fugitive defendant surrendered to federal authorities yesterday.
“Federal elections belong to American citizens—period,” said Raybould.
“When individuals who are not citizens cast ballots or falsely claim citizenship, they violate federal law, undermine the integrity of our electoral process and erode the public’s confidence in the fairness of our elections.
“These charges send a clear message: We will enforce the law. We will hold offenders accountable. And we will safeguard the voting process for the citizens it is meant to serve,” he added.
The federal law enforcement field office Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas acting Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge, Judy Pardo, on her part, who also spoke on the development, said: “Election integrity is a national security priority, and HSI will continue working with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate violations that threaten public confidence in our electoral process.
“These charges reflect HSI’s commitment to enforcing federal law, protecting the rights of US citizens, and ensuring that only those legally eligible participate in American elections.”
Weighing in on the matter, FBI Dallas Special Agent-in-Charge R. Joseph Rothrock, emphasized: “Americans have a right to expect free and fair elections. This includes ensuring that the only people who vote in our elections are in fact eligible to vote.
“The FBI will continue to work with our partners to thoroughly investigate any allegation of voter fraud or other election crimes.”
Others Also Indicted
Charged also was Carlos Salas Barrios, a 41-year-old Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2018, charged by complaint with allegedly voting by an alien in a federal election.
The indictment stated that Barrios unlawfully cast a provisional ballot in Tarrant County in the November 2024 general election despite not being a US citizen and not being registered. Although the ballot was ultimately rejected, casting it was still unlawful under Texas and federal law.
There were also a 69-year-old Indian citizen, Khalwinder Singh Bhengura; Celestin Katubadi, a 20-year-old citizen of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); 38-year-old Mexican citizen Rocio Thrasher; and another Mexican, Moises Anwar Arellano‑Alba, 36, described as an illegal alien.
These were not isolated incidents in North Texas, the statement insisted, citing the case of an illegal alien from Mexico, Eliseo Morales-Tapia, who, it added, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison “for aggravated identity theft, identity theft, voting by an alien in a federal election and false statements of citizenship.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Raybould addressing a gathering.
