Federal authorities in California continue to identify and arrest election fraudsters, with the latest criminal having become infamous through an undercover journalism video.
Back in March, James O'Keefe released an exposé showing an operation to pay off homeless people on Skid Row to forge the signatures of other voters in order to rack up enough names for getting certain ballot petitions approved. Petition circulators were offering homeless Angelenos between two and three bucks for the forgeries. The fraud operation had lists of registered voters (including addresses) and told each homeless person which name to assume and exactly what to write for the ballot petitions. Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, revealed that one of the individuals running a fraud operation in the video was 47-year-old James Brass of Victorville.
BREAKING: CALIFORNIA MASS IN-PERSON ELECTION FRAUD CRIMES CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Recordings Show Homeless Are Paid By Petitioners To FORGE Real Voters’ Signatures To Sign Ballot Petitions On Skid Row, Thousands of Times Disenfranchised Voters Say They Are OUTRAGED After Being Shown Their Signatures Are Forged Undercover in Los Angeles, James O’Keefe uncovered an election fraud pyramid scheme operating on Skid Row. In Part II of Cash for Ballots, series hidden camera footage shows petition circulators paying homeless individuals $2–$3 per form to sign ballot petitions using the names and addresses of real registered voters and forging their signatures. Circulators provided printed lists of voters, assigned identities, and directed the homeless individuals exactly what to write, monitoring them to ensure the information matched so the circulators get paid. “You only write what I tell you to write.” “Your name’s Robert.” “If you mess up, I can’t get paid.” The conduct captured appears to violate multiple California felony statutes, including Elections Code §18613 (signing another person’s name to a petition), Penal Code §470 (forgery), Elections Code §18601–18602 (paying for petition signatures), and Penal Code §470 (forging signatures). The OMG team and Cam Higby visited addresses tied to the voters' names being used. One resident said the named voter had not lived at the address for nearly a decade, yet election mail was still being delivered. “Doesn’t live here, uh I bought this house nearly 9 years ago. The only reason I know that name, is because we still get her mail.” “i always feel really weird when I get the voting ballot. Cause like, you know, obviously that’s fraudulent.” This is Part II of an ongoing investigation. The Citizen Justice League will continue to release more footage of these crimes caught on tape. @camhigby @ctznjusticelg
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) March 24, 2026
Brass and two of the petition circulators who worked for him, Courtney Price of Jacksonville, Fla., and Jateisha Herron of Boron, Calif., are now facing charges.
Among the shocking quotes in the O’Keefe video were "If you mess up, I can't get paid," "You're Robert," "You only writing what I'm telling you to write," and "You're asking a lot of questions, you scaring me." The individual who made the last statement also informed the undercover journalist that she could make another three dollars by going a little ways up the street and finding another fraud operation just like his. All of this is a violation of California's election code Division 18, Chapter 7, Article II, Section 18613, which states clearly, "Every person who subscribes to any initiative, referendum, or recall petition a fictitious name, or who subscribes thereto the name of another, or who causes another to subscribe such a name to that petition, is guilty of a felony and is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for two, three, or four years."
Hence the indictment against Brass, Herron, and Price. Brass was set to make his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon, according to Essayli. “All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony,” Essayli said.
He added that the criminals’ “conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems. We will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved in corrupting our elections.”
Given the scope of the fraud network that O’Keefe identified in his video, and the fact that Essayli already promised a major election fraud crackdown, the likelihood is that federal authorities will soon be arresting and charging other individuals too.
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