FBI Busts Scheme to Use Skid-Row Homeless to Steal Voters’ Identities for Ballot Petitions

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that it thwarted an identity fraud scheme linked to fake signatures for ballot initiatives in California.

The Department of Justice put out a news release stating that a San Bernardino County man had been arrested on a federal grand jury indictment “charging him and two other defendants with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections.”

[snip]

FBI Director Kash Patel commented about the case on X, writing, “This morning, the FBI and our partners arrested a subject near Los Angeles for allegedly paying homeless individuals on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions in support of ballot initiatives—all using stolen identities of registered voters. Two additional petition circulators have also been charged in the investigation.”

“All three subjects are charged with conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony, among other charges,” he continued. “Securing American elections from criminal interference is of the utmost importance to this FBI. If you mess with our elections, this FBI will find you.”

[snip]

“Our LA Skid Row undercover investigation captured people being offered cash to sign petitions and register to vote, including individuals being provided addresses to use on voter registration forms. Brass (“LORD”) is now in custody,” he wrote on X.

“He will appear in the riverside federal court this afternoon for his bond hearing. Now, according to the DOJ indictment, defendants used a voter database called SIGVALID to obtain the identities of registered California voters, gave those identities to petition signers, and paid them to fraudulently sign petitions in those voters’ names. Brenda Brown Armstrong, who was featured in our original reporting, has already been charged.”

BREAKING NEWS: DOJ INDICTS HIGHER-UPS IN LA SKID ROW PETITION FRAUD SCHEME EXPOSED BY O’KEEFE

Earlier this year, our LA Skid Row undercover investigation captured people being offered cash to sign petitions and register to vote, including individuals being provided addresses to… https://t.co/ciCVjn60Md pic.twitter.com/MPjEh3tCsn

— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) September 10, 2026

First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said, “These defendants are charged with using stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law.”

[snip]

Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, issued a statement saying that election integrity is of the utmost importance in the U.S., and it must be protected.

“It is imperative that Americans have confidence in our voting system and election infrastructure,” Grandy said. “The scheme outlined in today’s indictment sought to undermine an essential pillar of our democracy and cause an undue burden on taxpayers.”

He added, “We will remain vigilant in detecting those trying to weaken our political process and we will aggressively investigate any allegations of voter fraud or other election crimes.”

[snip]

The indictment stated that Brass oversaw a team of signature collectors from February to August. They allegedly committed fraud by claiming that they witnessed valid signature transitions, under penalty of perjury.

Brass reportedly received about $41,600 for his efforts from a petition management company.

The defendants are potentially facing a maximum of five years in federal prison for each count, but remain innocent until proven guilty.

The FBI is continuing to investigate the matter.

(*) Full article: https://www.westernjournal.com/fbi-busts-scheme-use-skid-row-homeless-steal-voters-identities-ballot-petitions/?utm_campaign=superfeed&utm_medium=superfeed&utm_source=superfeed