SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A Northern California jury found a Mexican national who assumed an American’s identity to vote in five federal elections guilty of voter fraud and identity theft.
A jury on Friday found Gustavo Araujo Lerma guilty of aggravated identity theft, making a false statement on a passport application and five counts of voting by an alien in federal elections from 2012 through 2016.
Lerma says he is an American named Hiram Enrique Velez.
Prosecutors say Lerma purchased a birth certificate and Social Security card with that name in 1992. They say he voted illegally for the past 20 years.
His defense says there is no proof Lerma is a Mexican citizen.
Lerma testified that he supports President Donald Trump and donated to the Republican party.