LOS ANGELES COUNTY – On November 17, 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced charges have been filed against two men for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people.
Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, 53, aka Mark Anthony Gonsalves, and Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud, eight counts of voter fraud, four counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument and four misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.
Montenegro faces an additional 10 counts of voter fraud, seven counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, two counts of perjury and five misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.
Montenegro allegedly submitted more than 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications between July and October 2020. The defendant also is accused of falsifying names, addresses and signatures on nomination papers under penalty of perjury to run for mayor in the city of Hawthorne.
If convicted as charged, Montenegro faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years and eight months in state prison, while Arevalo faces a possible maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
The case remains under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office, FBI, Covina Police Department and the California Secretary of State’s Office assisted in the initial investigation.
“This is an example of the investigative work that can be accomplished when local, state and federal investigators combine their resources and expertise in various areas of the law,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. “Thankfully this case of fraud was discovered and investigated.”
