Photo: Levi Clancy / Wikimedia Commons (archive)
Federal prosecutors announced charges Monday against six Los Angeles County residents accused of making false statements in their naturalization applications after allegedly registering to vote or casting ballots while they were not U.S. citizens.
The Justice Department identified all six as lawful permanent residents. The charges are accusations, not convictions, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The cases were detailed in a Justice Department announcement covering election-related charges involving 63 individuals nationwide. The Los Angeles cases are in the Central District of California and are separate from six Eastern District of California cases included in the same national release.
What prosecutors allege
The six defendants named by the department are Sirgalahad Camua, 43; Krystel Capi Valle, 31; Moria Dahan, 35; Chad Goertz, 52; Mahyar Nikzad, 35; and Gilberto Ruiz, 46. Each is charged with making false statements on naturalization applications, according to the release.
Prosecutors allege that Camua, a Philippine national, registered to vote in August 2009 by falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and cast mail ballots in May 2020, November 2024 and June 2026. They say he denied having claimed citizenship or registered to vote in paperwork filed in May 2025.
The department alleges that Capi Valle, a Mexican national, falsely claimed citizenship when registering in October 2022 and voted by mail in the November 2022 election. Prosecutors say she denied the earlier citizenship claim and voter registration on her June 2026 naturalization form.
Dahan, an Israeli national, is accused of registering and voting in person in the November 2024 general election while falsely claiming citizenship. Prosecutors allege she denied having claimed citizenship or registered to vote on a November 2025 naturalization form.
Goertz, a Canadian citizen, allegedly registered in April 2018 and voted by mail in the November 2022 and November 2024 elections. Prosecutors say he denied earlier citizenship claims and voter registration under oath in February 2026.
Nikzad, an Iranian national, allegedly checked the U.S.-citizen box on a voter-registration form and voted in the March 2024 and November 2024 elections. The department says he denied having claimed citizenship or registered to vote in February 2026.
Ruiz, a Mexican national, allegedly registered in July 2022 and voted by mail in November 2022, March 2024 and November 2024. Prosecutors say he denied having claimed citizenship or registered to vote in August 2025.
Criminal allegations are not a statewide voter count
The individual cases concern alleged false statements and voting conduct over several years. They do not establish how many noncitizens are registered statewide, how many ballots were unlawfully cast, or whether any particular election result was affected.
Lawful permanent residence is not U.S. citizenship and does not confer a right to vote in federal elections. But an allegation in a charging announcement still must be tested through the criminal process; it is not a judicial finding that a defendant committed the alleged conduct.
Separate court dispute over federal voter lists
The announcement came the same day that Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington issued preliminary relief restricting federal demands to California election officials based on suspected-noncitizen lists.
As JBizNews reported, Boasberg’s opinion discussed evidence that citizens had been wrongly included on the lists and barred demands seeking ballot segregation or other departures from existing state election procedures because a voter’s name appeared there.
That ruling addresses the executive branch’s authority to impose ballot-processing procedures. It does not decide the guilt or innocence of these six defendants. Conversely, the six prosecutions do not validate every name on a federal suspected-noncitizen list.
The Washington district-court ruling is also distinct from the Justice Department’s separate request for Supreme Court intervention over California ballots. Neither a criminal charging announcement nor the filing of a Supreme Court application is a Supreme Court ruling.
JBizNews Desk | Los Angeles
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