Caribbean immigrants convicted in South Florida federal election fraud cases
Key Points(5)
- Three noncitizens have pleaded guilty to illegally voting in U.S.
- federal elections in separate cases prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida, according to federal authorities.
- officials said the defendants admitted to registering and casting ballots despite knowing they were not eligible to vote under federal law, which requires U.S.
- citizenship for participation in federal elections.
- “Voting in federal elections is one of the most important rights and responsibilities of American citizenship,” said U.S.
Three noncitizens have pleaded guilty to illegally voting in U.S. federal elections in separate cases prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida, according to federal authorities.
U.S. officials said the defendants admitted to registering and casting ballots despite knowing they were not eligible to vote under federal law, which requires U.S. citizenship for participation in federal elections.
“Voting in federal elections is one of the most important rights and responsibilities of American citizenship,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones. “Federal law is clear: only United States citizens may vote in federal elections.”
Authorities said the three cases involved individuals from Brazil, Haiti, and Cuba who each knowingly violated election laws.
Moises Lima Junior, a Brazilian national who became a lawful permanent resident in January 2024, registered to vote the following month and falsely claimed U.S. citizenship, prosecutors said. He later cast a ballot in the 2024 federal election and pleaded guilty to making a false claim of citizenship to vote and voting by an alien. He was sentenced in May.
In a separate case, Gordon Louis, a Haitian national and convicted felon, voted in the 2020 general election for federal offices, including president and Congress, despite knowing he was not a U.S. citizen. He pleaded guilty to voting by an alien and was sentenced in April.
A third defendant, Roberto Figueredo, a Cuban national whose lawful permanent resident status had been revoked and who had been ordered removed from the United States, submitted a Florida voter registration application in 2020 falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, prosecutors said. He later cast a ballot in the 2020 federal election. Figueredo pleaded guilty in September 2025 and was sentenced in February 2026.
Federal prosecutors said Figueredo was also a convicted felon whose voting rights had not been restored at the time.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and Homeland Security Investigations officials in Miami and Fort Lauderdale announced the convictions. The cases were investigated with assistance from the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Killoran and Timothy Farina prosecuted the cases.
