Former Lincoln County Commissioner Thomas Ramey pleaded guilty to lying to federal officers in the midst of their investigation of a massive voter fraud conspiracy. Sheriff Jerry Bowman and County Clerk Donald Whitten also pleaded guilty, admitting that they stuffed ballot boxes with fraudulent ballots and falsified absentee ballots in an effort to rig the […]
Gilda Hernandez pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful assistance, two counts of illegal possession of a ballot, and two counts of failure to provide identifying information while assisting a voter. Hernandez was sentenced to one year of deferred adjudication and a $250 fine.
Darryl Cates, of Westville, entered a plea of nolo contendere to charges of false notarization of absentee ballots. The charges stemmed from the 2009 Cave Springs School District election, in which 33 ballots were disputed based on inconsistencies between the signatures on ballot request forms and voter affidavits. All of the contested ballots were notarized […]
John Fernandez, who worked for the Essex County Department of Economic Development, was convicted of election fraud, absentee ballot fraud, and forgery. Fernandez submitted phony absentee ballots while he was working on the 2007 election campaign of state Sen. Teresa Ruiz. Fernandez’s scheme involved messenger ballots, which are used by voters home-bound by illness or […]
Former State Representative Stephen Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of voter fraud in a scheme in which he obtained absentee ballots for ineligible voters and, in some cases, cast their ballots without their knowledge. He was sentenced to four months in prison, a year of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
Christopher Marshall, of Jennings County, pleaded guilty to deception in a case involving absentee ballot fraud. His father, Michael Marshall, was working on a mayoral re-election campaign and was responsible for soliciting absentee ballot voters. He recruited his son and another individual (John Cook) to assist him. Christopher Marshall was ordered to pay court costs […]
Joshua Clemons was charged with voter fraud for completing two absentee ballots for people he knew to be ineligible in the May 2011 Democratic Primary. He pleaded guilty to fraudulent delivery of ballots and received a suspended 18-month sentence.
John Cook, of Jennings County, pleaded guilty to perjury after he was arrested in connection with absentee ballot fraud. He was sentenced to 545 days’ imprisonment, with one year of that time suspended.
Mark Evangelous was charged with violating absentee voting laws, uttering a false document, and forgery related to his submission of an absentee ballot application in the name of a deceased voter. Evangelous claimed he had input the name of his sister-in-law incorrectly. The absentee ballot charge was dismissed, and the judge continued his case without […]
Sergio Robaina (the uncle of former Hialeah mayor) was charged with illegally collecting absentee ballots, a misdemeanor, and with felony voter fraud charges for allegedly filling out a ballot against the wishes of two voters, one of them a woman with dementia. Robaina pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of illegal possession of absentee ballots and […]