A California man who attempted to run for mayor was charged with voter fraud Tuesday along with his accomplice, according to local reports.
Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, 53, allegedly submitted 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications for “fictitious, non-existent or deceased persons” while attempting to run for mayor of Hawthorne, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Los Angeles County officials uncovered the scheme in October and none of the ballots were returned or tallied, the office stated. Montenegro has been charged with a total of 41 counts including perjury, voter fraud, conspiracy to commit voter fraud and procuring a false or forged instrument. His accomplice, Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, is reportedly charged with more than a dozen counts. (RELATED: ‘Enough To Overturn Any Election’ — Trump Campaign Holds Press Conference Laying Out Their Evidence Of Voter Fraud)
“Our checks and balances worked,” Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean C. Logan told NBC Los Angeles. “We detected the oddities in these forms. We identified that there was something off with that. We reported it. It was investigated fairly quickly by our law enforcement.”
An election worker opens envelopes containing vote-by-mail ballots for the August 4 Washington state primary at King County Elections in Renton, Washington on August 3, 2020. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials said they were able to uncover the scheme due to the incremental Social Security numbers and similar handwriting of the fraudulent voter applications, many of which were done on behalf of homeless people, NBC added. Montenegro allegedly submitted 32 fake signatures on his write-in candidate nomination papers and never appeared on the ballot.
Montenegro could face up to 15 years in prison, while Arevalo could face seven years, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
While 8,000 fraudulent ballots were allegedly submitted, there are only around 87,000 residents in the Hawthorne area.