Former Utah Postal Worker Indicted After Allegedly Dumping 300 Mail-In Ballots in Church Parking Lot
A former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier has been indicted on federal charges after he allegedly threw away mail he was entrusted to deliver — including approximately 300 mail-in ballots to registered voters in Utah, authorities announced.
Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, Utah, was charged with unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail, according to an indictment unsealed today. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 16. He was arrested and appeared for his arraignment at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. Courthouse this afternoon.
According to court documents, on June 3, 2026, Seei was working for the U.S. Post Office as a letter carrier and was entrusted with delivering mail to at least 300 Eagle Mountain, Utah, residents. Among the mail were advertisements and hundreds of mail-in ballots sent to Eagle Mountain residents to allow them to vote in a June 23, 2026, primary election. Seei allegedly threw away some of the mail he had been entrusted to deliver into a dumpster in a church parking lot.
“When American voters lawfully cast their vote, they should feel confident that it is counted,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “Allegedly throwing away hundreds of ballots is a serious federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections. Ballot integrity is not a partisan issue.”
U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah said the alleged conduct deprived citizens of their right to vote.
“When the defendant allegedly threw away the mail he was entrusted to deliver, he also threw away the chance for those citizens to exercise their right to vote,” Holyoak said. “Our office, along with our law enforcement partners, takes these offenses seriously and will continue to investigate them to ensure justice is served for anyone whose constitutional right to vote has been infringed.”
Homeland Security Investigations Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon said HSI supports the integrity of the voting process by working with the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney’s Offices and law enforcement partners to investigate alleged federal criminal violations that may undermine election integrity, including unlawful voting, fraudulent voter registration, false claims of U.S. citizenship, identity fraud and document fraud.
“HSI’s mission is to safeguard the homeland by conducting evidence-based, thorough, and impartial investigations,” Condon said. “We will continue to follow the facts, uphold the rule of law, and refer criminal violations for prosecutorial review in order to protect the integrity of lawful voting.”
U.S. Postal Service Assistant Inspector General of Investigation Robert Kwalwasser said postal employees entrusted with delivering mail must uphold the highest standards of integrity.
“Those who destroy mail intended for recipients will be held accountable for their criminal actions,” Kwalwasser said. “Special agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General remain steadfast in their commitment to protecting the integrity of Postal Service operations through thorough investigations and continued collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
Seei’s next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 30.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Six Charged in Three States in Election Fraud Cases; Feds Say Homeless Paid to Forge Signatures With Stolen Voter IDs
Six people have been charged in California, Kansas and Louisiana with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and identity fraud, federal authorities announced.
“If you are gaming the election system, voting illegally, or committing voter fraud, you are breaking the law, and the Department will ensure such individuals cannot corrupt future elections,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The integrity of our elections is fundamental to our democracy, and those who seek to undermine it will be charged accordingly.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said protecting election integrity is a top priority for the bureau.
“Every American citizen has a right to free and fair elections — and we will not hesitate to use all available resources to investigate every credible allegation of election fraud and illegal voting,” Patel said.
California: Skid Row Signature Scheme
In the Central District of California, James Brass, 47, also known as “Lord,” of Victorville, California, was arrested last week on a federal grand jury indictment charging him and two other defendants with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections.
Also charged in the two-count indictment were two petition circulators who worked for Brass: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California.
All three were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price were charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.
According to court documents, California’s constitution allows voters to bypass the state Legislature and enact laws or constitutional amendments directly through the ballot initiative process. To qualify an initiative for inclusion on a ballot in 2026, a proponent needed to submit 546,651 signatures for a proposed statute and 874,641 signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment.
The indictment alleges that Brass managed a team of signature collectors and collected signatures himself, while Price and Herron were signature collectors who worked for him. From February to August, the defendants used a database to identify registered California voters. On Skid Row, Brass and Price allegedly handed out the voters’ stolen identities and paid petition signers to copy the voters’ personal information onto ballot initiative petitions and fraudulently sign the petitions in those voters’ names.
After the petitions were signed, Brass and Herron allegedly signed declarations at the bottom falsely declaring under penalty of perjury that they personally witnessed the named registered voters sign the petitions and that each signature was, to the best of their knowledge, the genuine signature of the person whose name it purported to be.
Brass and Herron then turned in the bogus petitions to several petition coordinators, knowing the false representations would result in fraudulent signatures being counted in the effort to place the initiative on the ballot, the indictment alleges. Brass also knew the false representations would result in payments to him from a petition management company. In total, Brass received approximately $41,600 from coordinators working with one such petition management company, according to the release.
If convicted, Brass, Price and Herron each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count.
“These defendants are charged with using stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “They allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks. The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems, and we will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved.”
Kansas: Non-Citizen Voting Charges
A federal grand jury in Wichita, Kansas, returned an indictment charging Mariana Alexandra Dewey, 24, a Peruvian national and permanent resident of the United States, with multiple criminal offenses arising from allegedly voting in a federal election despite not being a U.S. citizen.
Dewey was charged with one count of false claim of citizenship, one count of false claim of United States citizenship in order to vote, one count of fraudulent election conduct, and one count of voting by an alien in a federal election.
In November 2024, Dewey allegedly falsely represented herself to be a U.S. citizen to register to vote in an election that included federal, state and local offices. She is further accused of casting a ballot that included candidates for U.S. President, Vice President, Senate and House of Representatives after falsely certifying that she was a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote.
Her initial court appearance was scheduled for today. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
“The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting election integrity and is actively investigating and prosecuting these cases,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “With another election looming, the Department’s effort serves as a stark reminder to individuals who are not legally authorized to vote not to engage in this conduct. Should individuals be determined by a court of law to have illegally claimed U.S. citizenship and voted or attempted to vote in federal elections, they will face serious criminal consequences.”
Louisiana: Mayor Candidate and Jamaican National Charged
Last week, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Bridget Johnson, 53, of Cotton Valley, Louisiana, with fraudulent voter registration and voting by an alien, and Michael Wedderburn, 52, of Jamaica, with voting by an alien.
According to court documents, Johnson was a resident of Webster Parish and a candidate in the 2024 election for mayor of Cotton Valley. Wedderburn is a non-citizen alien in the United States and was ineligible to vote in Louisiana elections.
On July 14, 2024, Johnson allegedly completed and electronically submitted a Louisiana voter registration application in Wedderburn’s name, falsely stating that he was a U.S. citizen. The indictment also alleges that Wedderburn subsequently voted illegally in the Nov. 5, 2024, election for a federal office and in the Cotton Valley mayoral race.
If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and Wedderburn faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison, as well as additional financial penalties.
“Protecting the integrity of Louisiana’s elections — and our national elections — is essential to protecting our constitutional republic,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana. “The right to vote is sacred. When individuals undermine that process through fraud or abuse, they threaten the public’s confidence in a fair and lawful election system. Our Office will continue to safeguard the sanctity of the vote and hold accountable those who violate our laws.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said non-citizen voting steals a vote from an American citizen.
“Thanks to our partners at the Department of Justice, these aliens and other suspects accused of voter fraud will face justice and can no longer poison our election processes,” Mullin said. “Only Americans should be allowed to decide America’s future and elect America’s leaders.”
An indictment merely contains accusations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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