A Nigerian woman living in the United States as a permanent resident in Massachusetts illegally voted in at least two elections after lying about her citizenship, authorities said.
Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, has been charged by the Justice Department with unlawfully voting as an alien for allegedly casting ballots in the 2024 presidential primary election and the 2022 midterm elections despite not being a US citizen.
She is expected to appear in a Boston federal courtroom on Wednesday.
Okafor repeatedly falsified her citizenship status on official documents under penalty of perjury to gain access to the ballot, federal prosecutors allege.
In July 2022, she submitted a voter registration card and signed her name certifying that she was a US citizen, authorities said.
The City of Lynn subsequently registered her to vote.
In October 2023, Okafor submitted another voter registration card where she checked a box saying she was an American citizen, prosecutors said.
She then voted in the 2024 presidential primary election, court documents state.
Okafor was born in Nigeria and obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022.
However, she is not a US citizen and has not applied for US citizenship, prosecutors said.
She faces up to a year in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
Recently, seven noncitizens were indicted in connection with an election integrity investigation in Texas.
Earlier this month, the DOJ charged five people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin in cases involving alleged illegal voting or fraudulent registration during the 2022 or 2024 elections.
