佐治亚州第四名外国公民因冒充公民投票被捕：以他人护照身份生活26年
位于佐治亚州 Barrow County 的 Winder 市一名居民11月2日被联邦执法人员逮捕：64岁的 Benito Covarrubias Iniguez 是墨西哥公民、老家在墨西哥 Jalisco，他当天在联邦治安法官 Anna W. Howard 面前出庭，被控为投票而虚假声称美国公民身份，此前涉嫌以欺诈手段取得护照。案件由司法部佐治亚北区检察官办公室宣布。
据联邦检察官 Theodore S. Hertzberg 公布的指控与庭上信息，Iniguez 在2000年从墨西哥入境美国后，以一名在波多黎各出生的美国公民之名骗取了一本护照。利用这个虚假身份，他后来取得 Georgia 州驾照、登记为选民，并在2024年11月5日的大选中投票。2026年10月16日，他被刑事诉状指控为在联邦选举中投票而虚假声称美国公民身份，联邦探员于11月2日将他逮捕。
Hertzberg 说：「非公民冒充美国人投票，破坏我们珍视的民主程序的公正性，削弱公众对选举结果的信心。本案与本区及全国的多宗同类案件都表明，在联邦选举中投票的非公民将被找到、逮捕并起诉。」
Iniguez 是2026年9月以来佐治亚北区第四名因在联邦选举中投票被控的外国公民。另外三人是：Pauline Lewis，65岁，安提瓜和巴布达公民、住 Dawsonville，被指以缺席选票在2020年、2021年与2024年三场联邦选举中投票，9月18日被捕出庭；Gabriel Covarrubias，44岁，墨西哥公民、住 Lawrenceville，被指在2024年大选中以假名亲自投票，并曾在2023年3月的护照申请中作虚假陈述，9月1日被以刑事信息书指控；Analiea Milliscent Eccles，43岁，委内瑞拉公民、住 Morrow，被指在2008年至2024年间投票九次，9月14日被捕出庭。
国务院外交安全局（DSS）负责查办本案，该局迈阿密外地办事处特别探员主管 Ryan McSeveney 表示，维护美国选举公正需要执行关于谁可以合法参与选举的法律，DSS 将继续与执法伙伴合作调查护照诈骗与虚假公民身份声称。案件由助理检察官 Brian Pearce 起诉。
检方提醒，诉状仅包含指控，被告在审判中被政府证明有罪之前推定无罪。这批起诉是国土安全任务组（HSTF）行动的一部分，该行动依第14159号行政令设立，统筹联邦执法力量打击跨境犯罪组织与人口走私、贩运网络。
（来源：美国司法部）
Fourth Foreign National Arrested in North Georgia over Voting in Federal Elections: Lived 26 Years under a Fraudulent Passport Identity
A resident of Winder, a city in Barrow County, Georgia, was arrested by federal agents on November 2: Benito Covarrubias Iniguez, 64, originally from Jalisco, Mexico, appeared that day before United States Magistrate Judge Anna W. Howard on federal charges of making a false claim of citizenship in order to vote after allegedly obtaining a fraudulent passport, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced.
According to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court, in 2000, after entering the United States from Mexico, Iniguez fraudulently obtained a passport in the name of a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico. Using that fraudulent identity, he later obtained a Georgia driver's license, registered to vote, and then voted in the November 5, 2024 general election. On October 16, 2026, Iniguez was charged in a criminal complaint with making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in a federal election, and federal agents arrested him on November 2.
"Votes of non-citizens impersonating Americans undermine the integrity of our cherished democratic process and diminish public confidence in our election results," Hertzberg said. "This case and the many others brought in this district and around the country reinforce that non-citizens who vote in federal elections will be found, arrested, and prosecuted."
Iniguez is the fourth foreign national charged since September 2026 with voting in federal elections in the Northern District of Georgia. The others are Pauline Lewis, 65, an Antigua and Barbuda citizen residing in Dawsonville, alleged to have voted by absentee ballot in the November 5, 2024, January 5, 2021, and November 3, 2020 federal elections, who appeared in court on September 18, 2026 after her arrest; Gabriel Covarrubias, 44, a Mexican citizen residing in Lawrenceville, alleged to have voted in person under a false name in the November 5, 2024 general election and to have made false statements in a March 2023 passport application, charged by criminal information on September 1, 2026; and Analiea Milliscent Eccles, 43, a Venezuelan citizen residing in Morrow, alleged to have voted nine times between 2008 and 2024, who appeared in court on September 14, 2026 after her arrest.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). Ryan McSeveney, Special Agent in Charge of the DSS Miami Field Office, said protecting the integrity of U.S. elections requires enforcing the laws that govern who may lawfully participate, and that DSS will continue working closely with law enforcement partners to investigate passport fraud and false claims of U.S. citizenship wherever they occur. Assistant United States Attorney Brian Pearce is prosecuting the case.
Members of the public are reminded that the complaint only contains charges; the defendant is presumed innocent, and it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. These prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于佐治亚州 Gainesville 的联邦大楼与联邦法院。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，美国国会图书馆藏，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Gainesville, Georgia. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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