Federal and Texas officials announced Tuesday the arrest of seven noncitizens charged with unlawfully voting in a federal election or making false statements about U.S. citizenship.
Six of the defendants are lawful permanent residents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. One, Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, is identified by prosecutors as an illegal alien from Mexico who had been ordered deported.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said prosecutors indicted six people on September 10 and charged a seventh by complaint on September 11. Agents arrested one defendant September 11 and five on September 14. Arellano-Alba, described as a fugitive, surrendered Tuesday.
Homeland Security Investigations and FBI Dallas led the investigations, with help from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Election Integrity Unit and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
Paxton announced the same arrests Tuesday. His office, the U.S. Attorney, the FBI, and HSI coordinated on the cases. He said the charges grew out of earlier work on possible noncitizen voting in the 2024 election.
“Foreign influence has no place in American elections. Today, my office is announcing our efforts to arrest foreigners who attempted to cheat the system and violate our laws that uphold election integrity,” Paxton said. “I will not tolerate attempts to rig elections and silence the will of American citizens and voters. I will continue to fight to ensure that Texas has free and fair elections.”
The charges are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Defendants
Helen Sayen Adams, 67, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since May 2024, is charged with voting by an alien and making a false statement of citizenship to register to vote. Prosecutors say she claimed U.S. citizenship on a Texas voter registration application in June 2024, voted in Tarrant County in November 2024, and later admitted she was not a citizen. Paxton’s office listed her as Helen Mayen Adams.
Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2016, is charged with false statements on a 2026 naturalization application. Prosecutors say he denied ever claiming citizenship, registering, or voting, despite registering in 2017 and voting in 2018. They did not charge the 2018 vote because of the statute of limitations.
Carlos Salas Barrios, 41, a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2018, is charged with voting by an alien. Prosecutors say he cast a provisional ballot in Tarrant County in November 2024 though he was not a citizen and was not registered. The ballot was rejected. Officials say casting it was still a crime.
Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, 69, a citizen of India and lawful permanent resident since 2022, is charged with voting by an alien and making a false statement of citizenship to register. Prosecutors say he claimed citizenship when he registered in January 2024 and again on a Texas driver license application in August 2024, voted in November 2024, and later admitted he knew he was not a citizen. He was arrested September 11.
Celestin Katubadi, 20, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a lawful permanent resident, is charged with voting by an alien and making a false statement of citizenship in order to vote. Prosecutors say he cast a provisional ballot in Tarrant County in November 2024 after claiming citizenship on a provisional-voter affidavit. The ballot was rejected. Paxton’s office listed him as Celestin Kuasa Katubadi.
Rocio Thrasher, 38, a Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2017, is charged with voting by an alien and making a false statement of citizenship to register. Prosecutors say she declared U.S. citizenship when she registered in June 2024, voted in November 2024, and later admitted she knew she was not a citizen.
Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, 36, is identified by the U.S. attorney as an illegal alien from Mexico ordered deported in July. He is charged with voting by an alien and making a false statement of citizenship to register. Prosecutors say he claimed citizenship on a 2023 Texas driver license application and voted early in Dallas County in 2024 despite being a noncitizen and a convicted felon. They say he admitted in immigration proceedings that he had voted.
Separately the same week, Eliseo Morales-Tapia, also described by prosecutors as an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for identity theft, voting by an alien, and false statements of citizenship. That case is not one of the seven arrests announced Tuesday.
