Federal prosecutors Monday charged six additional non‑citizen residents in Los Angeles County with falsifying naturalization forms to register and vote in U.S. elections.
Each defendant faces up to five years in prison if convicted, and all are lawful permanent residents who are not U.S. citizens.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the charges are part of Operation Protect the Vote, a coordinated federal effort to root out election fraud and protect electoral integrity.
The six were charged in the Central District of California for lying on naturalization applications about never having registered to vote or claiming U.S. citizenship.
Sirgalahad Camua, 43, a Philippine citizen from Palmdale; Krystel Capi Valle, 31, a Mexican national from Palmdale; and Moria Dahan, 35, an Israeli national from West Hills are among those charged. Chad Goertz, 52, a Canadian citizen from Agua Dulce; Mahyar Nikzad, 35, an Iranian national from Canoga Park; and Gilberto Ruiz, 46, a Mexican citizen from Palmdale complete the list.
Camua registered to vote in 2009 by claiming citizenship and voted by mail in 2020, 2024 and June 2026, while the others voted in recent elections ranging from 2022 to 2024.
Five of the six are scheduled for initial appearances in Los Angeles federal court Monday afternoon, and Homeland Security Investigations is leading the probe.
Earlier, 28 noncitizens were charged on Oct. 19 for unlawfully registering and voting; 11 were arrested that day, and all were green‑card holders.
Voter Roll Dispute
Essayli said, “There are thousands of suspected noncitizens on California’s voter rolls, and we renew our request for California to expeditiously work with us to verify the citizenship of those casting ballots in elections.”
On Oct. 16 the DOJ sued California and Los Angeles County after flagging more than 20,000 “likely noncitizens” on voter rolls and asked officials to review the names and set aside related ballots pending citizenship checks.
Los Angeles County Registrar‑Recorder Dean Logan rejected the request, saying his office would not act on unverified data and declined to open a federal thumb drive containing the list, citing security and privacy concerns.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the lawsuit “a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day,” adding that the federal request “should scare the hell out of every American.”
California automatically registers anyone applying for a driver’s license, identification card or change of address who indicates eligibility to vote, unless the individual opts out.
A federal judge denied the DOJ’s request to isolate the 20,000 mail‑in ballots, an appeals court refused to intervene, and the Supreme Court rejected an emergency bid on Monday, the day before the midterms.
