Two men, including one who unsuccessfully attempted to run for mayor in Hawthorne, face a slew of charges after allegedly submitting thousands of unlawful voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Carlos Antonio De Bourbon-Montenegro, 53, and Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, are accused of turning in the fraudulent applications between July and October of this year, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s news release.
Bourbon-Montenegro, who also goes by Mark Anthony Gonsalves, allegedly submitted more than 8,000 such applications, the release read. He is also suspected of falsifying names, addresses and signatures on the nomination papers he submitted in his failed mayoral bid.
The Daily Breeze reported in August that Bourbon-Montenegro fell short of the 20 signatures required to get on the ballot.
A warrant was filed in the case last Thursday, prosecutors said.
Both defendants have been charged with eight counts each of voter fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud, and four counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, according to the release.
Bourbon-Montenegro also faces 10 additional counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and seven counts of procuring and offering a false or forged instrument.
Additionally, they were charged with misdemeanor counts of interference with a prompt transfer of a completed affidavit.
The two are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. Officials have not released photos of either defendant.
Bourbon-Montenegro could receive a maximum sentence of 15 years and eight months in prison if convicted as charged, while the maximum prison sentence Arevalo potentially faces is seven years, according to prosecutors.
Multiple agencies assisted in the investigation, including the FBI, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office, the California Secretary of State’s Office and the Covina Police Department.