Federal authorities arrested a man from Victorville, accusing him and two others of paying individuals on Skid Row to fraudulently sign petitions with stolen identities of registered voters. James Brass, 47, is at the center of these allegations according to a federal indictment revealed on Wednesday. Brass allegedly led a team of signature collectors and personally collected signatures for ballot petitions aimed at influencing California law.
Brass, reportedly known as “Lord,” controlled a company called Pinnacle Brass LLC. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Riverside on Thursday afternoon. A deputy federal public defender, assigned to represent Brass, has not yet commented.
The indictment also names Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Fla., and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, Calif., as co-defendants. They have not been arrested and could not be reached for comment at this time.
All three individuals face charges of conspiracy to commit identity fraud with the intent to further a state felony. The charges against Brass and Price additionally include identity fraud with the same intent. If found guilty, each defendant could face up to five years in prison for each charge.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli referred to this matter on X, describing it as “California Election Fraud.” Essayli emphasized that the defendants allegedly exploited vulnerable individuals within Skid Row’s homeless population to shield their actions. He assured that efforts will be rigorous in investigating and charging any parties involved in such activities, as these actions compromise voter confidence in election systems.
The indictment outlines that California’s state Constitution allows citizens to bypass the legislature by enacting statutes and constitutional amendments through a direct initiative process. For an initiative to qualify for the ballot, a substantial number of signatures from registered voters who support the measure must be collected and submitted.
Typically, initiative proponents hire petition management companies to amass these signatures. The indictment alleges that between February and August of the current year, Brass, Price, and Herron employed a database to pinpoint registered California voters. Brass and Price are accused of handing out these stolen identities and compensating petition signers on Skid Row to replicate the voters’ personal data onto ballot initiative petitions, signing fraudulently in the voters’ names.
The prosecution also claims that Brass and Herron falsely completed declarations on the petitions, stating they had witnessed the registered voters’ signatures and each was authentic to the best of their knowledge. They reportedly submitted these counterfeit petitions to various petition coordinators, securing payments from a petition management company. Brass allegedly received around $41,600 from these coordinators.
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