Seven arrested for illegal voting

Federal and Texas officials arrested seven noncitizens charged with voting unlawfully or lying about citizenship. Six are lawful permanent residents; one is an illegal alien ordered deported.

Indictments came in September

Prosecutors indicted six people on September 10 and charged a seventh on September 11. Most arrests happened September 11 and 14; one fugitive surrendered Tuesday.

Multiple agencies coordinated the sweep

Homeland Security Investigations and FBI Dallas led the cases. They worked with Attorney General Ken Paxton's Election Integrity Unit and the Tarrant County DA's Office.

“Foreign influence has no place in American elections.”

Two Nigerian citizens charged

Helen Adams, 67, allegedly voted in November 2024 after falsely claiming citizenship. Joshua Akpom, 27, allegedly lied on his naturalization application about past voting.

Provisional ballots still illegal

Carlos Barrios cast a rejected provisional ballot in November 2024. Officials say casting it was still a crime even though it didn't count.

Indian and Congolese citizens arrested

Khalwinder Bhengura, 69, from India, allegedly voted after falsely registering. Celestin Katubadi, 20, from Congo, cast a rejected provisional ballot after claiming citizenship.

Mexican citizens face charges

Rocio Thrasher, 38, allegedly voted in November 2024 after falsely registering. Moises Arellano-Alba, 36, an illegal alien ordered deported, allegedly voted early in Dallas County despite being a felon.

All defendants presumed innocent

The charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. A separate case resulted in a 36-month prison sentence the same week.