A Nigerian national living in Lynn faces a federal charge after authorities say she illegally voted in two elections.
Federal authorities arrested Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, on Wednesday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts charged her with unlawful voting by an alien.
Prosecutors say Okafor voted in the November 2022 midterm election and the March 2024 presidential primary.
Okafor isn't a U.S. citizen. She's a Nigerian citizen who became a lawful permanent resident in December 2022.
She hasn't ever applied for American citizenship.
Okafor first submitted a voter registration form to Lynn election officials in July 2022. The form included a certification saying the person signing it was an American citizen.
Okafor allegedly signed that certification, and the city registered her to vote.
She then voted in the November 2022 midterm election.
In October 2023, she submitted another voter registration form. On it, she allegedly checked "Yes" when the form asked whether she was a United States citizen.
Lynn approved her again, and she voted in the March 2024 presidential primary.
A Homeland Security Investigations special agent interviewed Okafor on Sept. 10, 2026, and recorded it.
The complaint says Okafor admitted to the feds that she filled out both voter registration forms and voted in 2022 and 2024.
She did this despite identifying as a lawful permanent resident on a January 2023 immigration form, not an American citizen.
Homeland Security Investigations has been looking at voter rolls in some Massachusetts communities to identify cases of noncitizen voting.
The illegal voting charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine.
Okafor could also be deported.
You can report suspected voting and welfare fraud to the federal government by calling 1-855-SCAM-MA-1 (855-722-6621).
