Federal authorities have charged 63 individuals across the country for alleged election-related offenses, marking the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced. Among those swept up in the nationwide enforcement action is a 64-year-old Mexican national in northern Georgia accused of casting an illegal ballot using fraudulent identity papers.
The prosecutions stem from a Homeland Security Task Force established under Executive Order 14159. Over the past nine weeks, federal authorities charged 195 aliens across 25 states with illegal voting and registration violations, pushing the total number of election fraud-related charges since the start of the administration to 239.
Federal Judge Presides over Gainesville Court Appearance
In Gainesville, Benito Covarrubias Iniguez, 64, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anna W. Howard on Monday. Federal agents arrested Iniguez earlier that day following a criminal complaint filed on October 16. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated that Iniguez entered the United States from Mexico in 2000 and subsequently obtained a passport under the name of a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico.
Investigators maintain that Iniguez used the fraudulent paperwork to secure a Georgia driver’s license, register to vote, and cast a ballot in the November 5, 2024, general election. “Votes of non-citizens impersonating Americans undermine the integrity of our cherished democratic process and diminish public confidence in our election results,” Hertzberg said, adding that non-citizens who vote in federal elections will be found, arrested, and prosecuted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce is prosecuting the case, while the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service continues its investigation. Ryan McSeveney, special agent in charge of the DSS Miami Field Office, noted that his agency will maintain its focus on passport fraud and false citizenship claims across the Southeast.
Since September, the Northern District of Georgia has seen four non-citizens, including Iniguez, facing charges for participating in federal voting contests. Other recent local cases include:
- Pauline Lewis, 65, of Dawsonville: An Antigua and Barbuda citizen who entered on a 1979 student visa, Lewis appeared in court September 18 after allegedly voting by absentee ballot in 2020, 2021, and 2024.
- Gabriel Covarrubias, 44, of Lawrenceville: A citizen of Mexico who faces allegations of employing a fake Puerto Rican persona for a passport application in 2023, and who was formally accused on September 1 of casting an in-person ballot in November 2024.
- Analiea Milliscent Eccles, 43, of Morrow: A Venezuelan citizen under DACA status, Eccles appeared in court September 14 for allegedly voting nine times between 2008 and 2024.
Attorney General Announces Widespread Federal Voter Fraud Arrests
Attorney General Blanche emphasized the broad reach of the federal crackdown during the national announcement. “Today’s announcement marks the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office,” Blanche said, noting that the defendants allegedly took advantage of the trust of the American people.
Federal authorities have not released specific polling locations or target ballot details for all 63 defendants named in the broad national announcement. Officials have not disclosed whether any additional co-conspirators face pending sealed indictments as the investigation proceeds.
