BOSTON — A 56-year-old Nigerian woman living in Lynn, Massachusetts has been arrested for allegedly voting illegally in US elections while not a citizen.
Gladys Adaeze Okafor was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with unlawfully voting as an alien, according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Prosecutors said Okafor will appear in federal court in Boston later Wednesday.
According to charging documents, Okafor is a Nigerian citizen born in Aba. She obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022 but had not applied for US citizenship.
The alleged offenses began before she became a permanent resident. In July 2022, she submitted a voter registration card signed under a certification stating “I am a citizen of the United States… Signed under penalty of perjury,” prosecutors said. The City of Lynn registered her and she allegedly voted in the midterm elections that fall.
She allegedly registered again in October 2023, checking the “U.S. Citizen” box and signing the citizenship certification, then voted in the 2024 presidential primary, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine. The defendant may also face deportation after any sentence, prosecutors said.
The case was announced by US Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. Assistant US Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting.
The US Attorney’s Office linked the case to its Benefit & Voter Fraud Team, which Foley announced on March 26, 2026 as a district-wide initiative in response to fraud uncovered across Massachusetts. On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute fraud against Americans.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Okafor is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nigerian Woman Arrested in US Over Alleged Illegal Voting
