A Nigerian woman who lives in Massachusetts as a lawful permanent resident allegedly voted in at least two US elections after falsely claiming to be an American citizen, federal authorities said.
Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, has been charged by the Justice Department with unlawfully voting as a noncitizen. Prosecutors allege she cast ballots in the 2024 presidential primary and the 2022 midterm elections despite not holding US citizenship.
Okafor is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Wednesday.
According to federal prosecutors, Okafor repeatedly misrepresented her citizenship on official forms signed under penalty of perjury in order to register and vote.
Authorities said she first submitted a voter registration application in July 2022 and signed a certification stating that she was a US citizen.
The City of Lynn then added her to the voter rolls.
In October 2023, prosecutors said, Okafor filed another voter registration form and again checked a box affirming that she was an American citizen.
Court records say she later voted in the 2024 presidential primary.
Okafor was born in Nigeria and received lawful permanent resident status in December 2022.
She is not a US citizen and has never applied for naturalization, prosecutors said.
If convicted, Okafor could face up to one year in prison and a fine of as much as $10,000.
The case comes as election-related investigations continue elsewhere. In Texas, seven noncitizens were recently indicted in connection with an election integrity probe.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department charged five people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin over allegations involving illegal voting or fraudulent voter registrations tied to the 2022 or 2024 elections.
