FRESNO, CA (KMJ) Federal law enforcement throughout California on Monday arrested 11 foreign nationals living in the United States who are among 28 total charged in criminal complaints with federal crimes, including that they fraudulently registered to vote in U.S. elections, electoral contests in which most of them cast illegal and fraudulently obtained ballots.
“Operation Protect the Vote” is a coordinated effort among all four California-based United States Attorney’s Offices to combat and root out fraud in U.S. elections and protect electoral integrity.
A handful of suspects in the Central Valley are facing charges.
The following defendants are charged with voting by an alien in a federal election, a misdemeanor that carries a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison:
- Maricela Nazarín González, 43, a Mexican national living in Clovis, California, registered to vote in 2020, indicating that she was a U.S. citizen, and voted in elections in 2022, twice in 2024, and 2025.
- Rony de Jesús Sicaja, 38, a Guatemalan national living in Fresno, California, fraudulently registered to vote in 2017, and voted in the June 2022 primary election and the November 2024 general election in the United States.
- Camino Giles Jiménez, 51, a Mexican national living in Kerman, California, knowingly voted in three U.S. elections despite knowing he is a noncitizen, the most recent election being the June 2026 primary.
All 28 foreign nationals charged are lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or “green card” holders. Although LPRs have legal immigration status in the United States, they are not U.S. citizens and are not permitted to vote in U.S. elections.
The criminal charges include making false statements in a naturalization application and some of the defendants also are charged with fraudulent voter registration. Both charges are felonies that carry a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week. California refused to look at that list. Today’s charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk. California must verify the citizenship of those more than 20,000 registrants before mail-in ballots are counted.”
