A 56-year-old Nigerian woman, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, has been arrested in the United States for allegedly falsely claiming to be an American citizen and voting in elections.
Okafor, a resident of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with unlawfully voting as a non-citizen.
The US Department of Justice announced the case in a statement issued on September 16, 2026.
According to court documents, Okafor was born in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria, and became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in December 2022. Prosecutors said she is not a US citizen.
The authorities alleged that she registered to vote in July 2022 and signed a declaration affirming that she was a US citizen.
She was subsequently registered as a voter in Lynn and allegedly participated in the 2022 midterm elections.
Prosecutors further alleged that Okafor submitted another voter registration application in October 2023, again indicating that she was a US citizen, before allegedly voting in the 2024 presidential primary election.
She is expected to appear before a federal court in Boston following her arrest.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine. She could also face deportation following any sentence imposed by the court.
Assistant US Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
