A federal grand jury in eastern North Carolina has indicted 10 noncitizens on charges of illegally voting in the 2024 election after allegedly falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on registration or ballot paperwork.
The defendants include one person who is in the country illegally and nine lawful permanent residents. All face felony charges that carry up to five years in prison.
According to prosecutors, several of the defendants had registered to vote years ago and cast ballots in multiple elections before 2024. The longest-running case involves Robert Harold Corbett, a Canadian native who registered to vote in 1998 and went on to vote in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2016 and 2024.
Federal agents arrested the defendants after the indictments were handed up. The investigations were built on evidence gathered by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, head of the office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, spoke at a press conference outside the federal courthouse in Raleigh.
“I am a citizen, I am a voter. You are citizens. You are voters. We — are imbued with our sacred, Constitutional right to vote. Secured by the blood of our patriot forefathers and current service members who sacrifice blood, time, and family to safeguard this birthright,” Boyle said.
Boyle argued that illegal voting by noncitizens is not a victimless crime, saying it cancels out the ballots cast by eligible citizens. He said his office will keep pursuing such cases.
“Every voting citizen is a victim every time,” he said. “These indictments should serve as a stark warning to anyone contemplating voting illegally in our 2026 election: we are watching, we will find you if you do it, and we will prosecute you.”
The new indictments follow other recent cases in the district. Earlier this year, Canadian citizen Denis Joseph Bouchard was convicted and sentenced to two months in prison. Bouchard had lived in the United States since the 1960s without becoming a citizen, prosecutors said, and had falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms, casting ballots in nine federal elections between 2004 and 2024.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has also charged James Darius Osborne, a 36-year-old Wilmington man who was serving supervised release for a child pornography conviction, with making false statements on voter registration forms and ballots while ineligible to vote. He is accused of casting ballots in the 2024 general election and the 2026 primary.
Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella commented on the arrests as well.
“The right to vote is one of American citizens’ most fundamental rights, and protecting our elections’ integrity is a responsibility we take seriously,” Venturella said. “When people illegally cast ballots, they undermine the law and the trust Americans place in our democratic process. These arrests send the message that election laws are not optional, and those who violate them will be held accountable.”
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