Indian national, Indian-origin man charged with voting illegally in 2016 US presidential elections

Team Udayavani, Sep 4, 2020, 11:42 AM IST

New York: An Indian national and an Indian-origin man from Malaysia have been charged by federal prosecutors with unlawfully voting in the 2016 US presidential elections by falsely claiming American citizenship.

Baijoo Pottakulath Thomas, 58, and 11 other foreign nationals were charged in US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina last month with misdemeanor charges for unlawfully casting ballots in the 2016 presidential elections.

They face a maximum term of one-year imprisonment and a fine of up to USD 100,000 if convicted, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said.

Non-citizens are not eligible to register to vote or to vote in federal elections under US law.

Another Indian-origin man, Roob Kaur Atar-Singh, 57, hailing from Malaysia, was among seven foreign nationals facing federal charges in North Carolina for illegally voting in the 2016 federal elections.

ICE said these charges are the latest indictments to result from an ongoing years-long federal criminal investigation being conducted by the federal agencies.

Atar-Singh was among those charged by a federal grand jury for falsely claiming US citizenship or making false statements on voter registration applications, and with misdemeanor charges of unlawfully casting ballots in the 2016 presidential elections.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of six years in federal prison, a USD 350,000 fine, and a term of supervised release, ICE said.