56-Year-Old Nigerian Woman Arrested and Charged in the U.S for Illegal Voting in 2022 and 2024 Elections After Falsely Claiming to Be an American Citizen A 56-year-old Nigerian woman, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, has been arrested and charged in the United States for allegedly voting in American elections after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, announced the case in a U.S. Department of Justice release issued on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Okafor, who resides in Lynn, Massachusetts, is accused of voting in the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential primary election. She is charged with unlawfully voting as an alien and was arrested on Wednesday morning. She was expected to appear in federal court in Boston later that same day. According to the charging documents, Okafor is a Nigerian citizen who was born in Aba, Abia State. She obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022 but is not a U.S. citizen and has never applied for U.S. citizenship. Prosecutors allege that in July 2022, Okafor submitted a voter registration card and signed a certification stating, “I AM A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES … Signed under penalty of perjury.” The City of Lynn subsequently registered her to vote, and she allegedly voted in that year’s midterm elections. The documents further allege that Okafor submitted another voter registration form in October 2023, again checking the box identifying her as a U.S. citizen and signing the accompanying certification. She allegedly went on to vote in the 2024 presidential primary election. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000. She may also face deportation after completing any sentence imposed. The DOJ said any sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes governing criminal cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.