Texas AG, Federal Prosecutors Announce Arrests of Seven Noncitizens Charged Over 2024 Voting

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that seven foreign nationals have been arrested on federal charges tied to illegal voting or false claims of U.S. citizenship connected to the 2024 general election. The cases were developed jointly by Paxton’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. Six defendants were indicted Sept. 10; a seventh was charged by criminal complaint Sept. 11. Agents arrested one defendant Sept. 11 and five on Sept. 14. A sixth, treated as a fugitive, surrendered Tuesday. All seven were in custody as of the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said the charges cover unlawfully voting in a federal election or falsely claiming citizenship. “Federal elections belong to American citizens—period,” he said. “When individuals who are not citizens cast ballots or falsely claim citizenship, they violate federal law, undermine the integrity of our electoral process and erode the public’s confidence in the fairness of our elections.” Paxton said, “Foreign influence has no place in American elections. Today, my office is announcing our efforts to arrest foreigners who attempted to cheat the system and violate our laws that uphold election integrity. I will not tolerate attempts to rig elections and silence the will of American citizens and voters.” Six of the seven are described as lawful permanent residents. One is an illegal alien from Mexico who was ordered deported in July. The defendants are citizens of Mexico, Nigeria, India, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ages range from 20 to 69. Six cases are tied to Tarrant County; one is tied to Dallas County. Officials said the seven were not alleged to have acted as a coordinated group.

Helen Sayen Adams, also identified in Paxton’s release as Helen Mayen Adams, is a 67-year-old Nigerian national and green-card holder since May 2024. Prosecutors say she claimed U.S. citizenship on a Texas voter-registration application in June 2024, voted in Tarrant County in November 2024, and later admitted she is not a citizen. She is charged with voting by an alien and making a false statement of citizenship to register. Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27, a Nigerian lawful permanent resident since 2016, is charged with false statements in relation to naturalization. Prosecutors say he registered in 2017, voted in the 2018 general election, and on a 2026 naturalization application denied that he had ever claimed citizenship, registered, or voted. Carlos Salas Barrios, 41, a Mexican lawful permanent resident since 2018, is charged by complaint with voting by an alien after casting a provisional ballot in Tarrant County in November 2024 that was later rejected. Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, 69, an Indian lawful permanent resident since 2022, is charged with voting by an alien and a false citizenship statement. Prosecutors say he claimed citizenship when registering in January 2024 and again on a driver’s-license application in August 2024, voted in November 2024, and later admitted he knew he was not a citizen. He was arrested Sept. 11.

Celestin Kuasa Katubadi, 20, a lawful permanent resident from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is charged with voting by an alien and a false citizenship statement after casting a rejected provisional ballot in Tarrant County in November 2024 and claiming citizenship on a provisional-voter affidavit. Rocio Thrasher, 38, a Mexican lawful permanent resident since 2017, is charged with voting by an alien and a false citizenship statement. Prosecutors say she declared citizenship when registering in June 2024, voted in November 2024, and later admitted she knew she was not a citizen. Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, 36, an illegal alien from Mexico ordered deported in July, is charged with voting by an alien and a false citizenship statement. Prosecutors say he claimed citizenship on a 2023 Texas driver’s-license application, voted early in Dallas County in 2024 despite being a noncitizen and a convicted felon, and admitted in immigration proceedings that he had voted. He surrendered Tuesday. Tarrant County sites named in local reporting included the East Library and Recreation Center in Arlington, the Como Community Center in Fort Worth, and the Tarrant County Subcourthouse in Arlington. Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells announced additional local charges against two other defendants the same day. In a related federal case announced alongside the seven, Eliseo Morales-Tapia, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced to 36 months for aggravated identity theft, identity theft, voting by an alien, and false statements of citizenship.

Paxton’s office opened investigations in June 2025 into 33 potential noncitizens referred by Secretary of State Jane Nelson after Texas gained access to USCIS’s SAVE database under a Trump administration executive order making the system available to states. Officials have separately said the secretary of state’s office later referred additional flagged cases after checking federal data against other records. The seven announced Tuesday are federal prosecutions arising from that broader North Texas effort. Charging documents are allegations. The defendants have not been convicted on the new counts. FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said the bureau will continue to investigate voter-fraud allegations with its partners. HSI Dallas acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Judy Pardo called election integrity a national-security priority and said the charges reflect an effort to ensure only those legally eligible participate in federal elections.