Federal agents have descended into Los Angeles’ Skid Row as part of a federal voter fraud investigation tied to explosive claims that homeless residents were paid cash to register and vote ahead of the city’s mayoral election.
The operation, conducted by approximately 20 plainclothes agents, marks a significant escalation in efforts to address allegations of electoral misconduct. According to federal sources, homeless individuals reported receiving small payments—ranging as low as $4—to sign multiple voter registration forms, forge signatures, and submit voter information for the mayoral race and governor’s primaries.
Federal authorities confirmed that Homeland Security Investigations agents were interviewing residents on Thursday morning before noon. The Justice Department stated it was investigating a criminal matter, while the FBI declined to comment on the ongoing probe.
The allegations center on Skid Row residents who claimed they were paid by individuals associated with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Nithya Raman. In the primary election, Raman edged out Spencer Pratt. One resident identified as Kevin Shepherd alleged he received $4 specifically to vote for Bass, stating that Pratt was not among the candidates encouraged to support him.
Federal officials noted that this case is part of a broader pattern. On May 18, prosecutors charged Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, a Marina del Rey woman who worked as a longtime signature collector for ballot initiatives, with paying people to register to vote. The DOJ reported that Armstrong allegedly gathered registration forms from the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters before taking them to Skid Row.
An official filing revealed another critical issue: some homeless individuals used addresses that did not match their actual residences, creating potential risks for vote-by-mail ballots being delivered incorrectly. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office had previously investigated this case.
Federal prosecutors have been raising concerns about California’s voter rolls prior to this operation. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli recently noted that the state was blocking a federal audit of its voter records and listed specific forms of identification allowed for first-time registrations.
A recent review by federal authorities found over 7,600 registered voters linked to shelters and social-service organizations. This included 1,160 registrations connected to Skid Row’s Midnight Mission and 185 tied to a Venice drop-in center. The organization receiving the $600,000 taxpayer-funded grant from Raman during her tenure on the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee has also been identified in these records.
While none of this evidence directly implicates any candidate in directing wrongdoing, federal investigators are now conducting on-the-ground interviews to determine if a coordinated fraud scheme exists. If prosecutors can connect video evidence, registration records, ballots, addresses, and alleged cash payments, the case could become one of the most significant election-integrity investigations in recent history.
