Six More Foreign Nationals in L.A. County Charged Over Voting, as Two California Federal Districts Announce Cases the Day Before the Midterms
Updated: 7 minutes ago
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have charged six more foreign nationals who allegedly registered to vote and voted in U.S. elections, accusing them of lying about it on their applications to become naturalized citizens, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced Monday, the day before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Update (7:45 PM ET, Nov. 2): Five of the six defendants made their initial appearances in federal court Monday and were ordered released on their own recognizance, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California told The Digital Free Press. No pleas were taken. Arraignments are set for Dec. 1 for Camua, Capi Valle, Nikzad and Goertz, and Dec. 8 for Dahan. Gilberto Ruiz has not yet been arrested, the spokesperson said. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The same day, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced illegal-voting charges against six other noncitizens in Fresno, Kings, Sacramento, Solano, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, as The Digital Free Press reported earlier Monday. Both sets of cases are part of the Justice Department's "Operation Protect the Vote" in California.
Who Is Charged and the Elections Cited
The release, reviewed by The Digital Free Press, names the six, who live in the Antelope and San Fernando valleys, as Sirgalahad Camua, 43, a citizen of the Philippines living in Palmdale; Krystel Capi Valle, 31, a Mexican national living in Palmdale; Moria Dahan, 35, an Israeli national living in West Hills; Chad Goertz, 52, a Canadian citizen living in Agua Dulce; Mahyar Nikzad, 35, an Iranian national living in Canoga Park; and Gilberto Ruiz, 46, a citizen of Mexico living in Palmdale.
The office says every defendant charged in the operation is a lawful permanent resident, or green card holder, and as noncitizens they may not register or vote in U.S. elections.
According to affidavits summarized in the release, Camua registered in August 2009 and voted by mail in May 2020, November 2024 and June 2026. Ruiz registered in July 2022 and voted by mail in November 2022, March 2024 and November 2024. Goertz registered in April 2018 and voted by mail in November 2022 and November 2024. Capi Valle registered in October 2022 and voted by mail that November, and Dahan voted in person on Nov. 5, 2024.
The release says Nikzad registered in September 2024 and that records show he voted in the March 2024 and November 2024 elections. It does not explain how he voted in March, before that registration date.
Lying on Naturalization Forms Carries Up to Five Years
Each is charged with making false statements on a naturalization application. Prosecutors allege that on forms filed between May 2025 and June 2026, each swore under penalty of perjury that they had never claimed to be a U.S. citizen and had never registered to vote. If convicted, each faces a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, the office said. The release does not cite the specific statute.
Five of the six, Camua, Capi Valle, Dahan, Goertz and Nikzad, were arrested Monday and scheduled for initial appearances that afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The release does not say whether Ruiz is in custody.
"We must protect the vote of every American citizen," Erin Burke, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, said in the release.
HSI is investigating the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Wheat and Minjae Kim are prosecuting.
"A criminal complaint merely contains allegations," the release states. All six are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and none has been convicted.
Two Districts, Two Different Charges
The Los Angeles charges differ from the Eastern District's. There, the six were charged with illegally voting, which that office said carries up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. In Los Angeles, the charges target the alleged false statements on naturalization forms, which carry the longer maximum.
"We have now charged 34 defendants in Operation Protect the Vote, and every one of their names was on the list we provided to California officials," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in the release. "There are thousands of suspected noncitizens on California's voter rolls, and we renew our request for California to expeditiously work with us to verify the citizenship of those casting ballots in elections."
Video: U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California (First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli at the office's Nov. 2, 2026 press conference)
At the office's press conference Monday, Essayli said prosecutors obtained the voter rolls from the state of California, but that those rolls do not include identifiers such as Social Security or driver's license numbers. He said HSI and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services instead worked through third-party databases to find identifying information for the people listed, a "painstaking process" that he said "may not be 100%." He said that when Los Angeles County sampled 200 people on the list, all 200 were confirmed to be foreign-born; The Digital Free Press has not independently verified that figure. Essayli also said five of the six defendants were in custody Monday morning and that the sixth would be shortly.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California told The Digital Free Press that the defendants' cases had not yet been called Monday afternoon and that their custody status was expected to be known that evening. Asked which statute the complaints cite, the spokesperson referred questions to the complaints themselves. Asked how the cases were identified, the spokesperson pointed to the office's Monday press conference.
Sources: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, "Six Additional Foreign Nationals in L.A. County Who Registered to Vote and Voted in U.S. Elections Charged with Lying on Naturalization Forms," Nov. 2, 2026, Press Release No. 26-211 (https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/six-additional-foreign-nationals-la-county-who-registered-vote-and-voted-us-elections); U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California post on X, Nov. 2, 2026 (https://x.com/USAO_LosAngeles/status/2117347826157940739); The Digital Free Press, "Federal Prosecutors Charge Six More Noncitizens With Illegally Voting in California, One Day Before the Midterms," Nov. 2, 2026 (https://www.thedigitalfreepress.com/post/six-more-noncitizens-charged-illegal-voting-eastern-district-california); U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, "Operation Protect the Vote Second Announcement," press conference video, Nov. 2, 2026 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhp5jTgY0Fg).
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