Six more noncitizens have been charged with illegally registering and voting in federal elections, including an Iranian man and a Canadian national.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced the charges during a presser Monday as part of what his office has coined “Operation Protect the Vote,” a federal initiative that has now resulted in charges against 34 people accused of illegally registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections.

The new charges come as Essayli ramps up efforts to prevent ineligible ballots from being counted ahead of Election Day.

Five of the six newly charged individuals were already in custody Monday morning, Essayli said, adding that the sixth was expected to be taken into custody shortly.

Among those charged is Mahyar Nikzad, 35, an Iranian national living in Canoga Park who allegedly voted twice in 2024, casting ballots in both the presidential primary and general election.

According to Essayli, the man registered to vote after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. When he applied for citizenship in February 2026, he allegedly lied under oath by denying that he had ever claimed citizenship, registered to vote or participated in an election.

Another defendant, Canadian national Chad Goertz, 52, of Agua Dulce, allegedly voted in the 2022 and 2024 general elections after registering in 2018 and claiming to be an American citizen.

Goertz later requested that his voter registration be canceled in September 2025, acknowledging that he was not a citizen and was therefore ineligible to vote, Essayli said.

Despite that admission, Goertz allegedly denied ever registering or voting when he applied for naturalization in February 2026.

The others who allegedly illegally voted are Sirgalahad Camua, 43, a citizen of the Philippines who lives in Palmdale, Krystel Capi Valle, 31, a Mexican national, also living in Palmdale, Moria Dahan, 35, an Israeli national living in West Hills and Gilberto Ruiz, 46, a citizen of Mexico who resides in Palmdale.

Essayli said the defendants were lawful permanent residents, but emphasized that holding a green card does not give someone the right to vote in federal elections.

“Every vote does matter,” Essayli said during the presser Monday. “It doesn’t take many illegal votes to corrupt our elections.”

The six defendants were among more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens identified on California’s voter rolls and referred to state election officials by the federal government, according to Essayli.

He emphasized that the list was compiled using California voter registration records that were reviewed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials. Federal authorities included individuals only when immigration records confirmed they were not U.S. citizens, he said.

“Every one of the 20,000 is a confirmed non-citizen, and we believe that they are receiving ballots or have received ballots in this election,” Essayli said. 

However, being identified as a noncitizen on a voter registration list does not necessarily establish that someone illegally cast a ballot.

Essayli said federal prosecutors do not intend to bring criminal charges against all 20,000 individuals.

“Our goal is not to charge all 20,000 people. Our goal is to get California to not count the votes of non-citizens,” he said.

The announcement comes as the federal government seeks an emergency intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court to require California to separate ballots associated with the list of suspected noncitizens.

Essayli said the U.S. solicitor general filed the emergency request Monday, arguing that the ballots should be segregated while their eligibility is examined.

“Segregating does not mean they won’t be counted,” Essayli said. “It means that we’ll have an opportunity to present our evidence in court and make a determination of whether those ballots are legal or not.”

Erin Burke, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles, who was also at the presser, said federal investigators are committed to pursuing allegations of election-related crimes.

“The American people deserve an election system that they can trust, and HSI is committed to investigating criminal activity that threatens that integrity,” Burke said.

“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, use the full strength of our investigative capabilities, and work to hold those who violate federal law accountable.”

Essayli also announced that federal prosecutors are working with local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys across California to investigate suspected illegal voting.

He said federal authorities lack the resources to pursue every individual identified on the list and are asking local prosecutors to investigate potential violations in their jurisdictions.

“Not only is it against federal law for non-citizens to vote, it’s also against state law,” Essayli said.

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced during the presser that for their part his office filed three felony charges against 31-year-old John Ruel S. Ambos, accusing him of illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot in California’s September 2021 gubernatorial recall election.

According to Dow, Ambos allegedly committed voter registration fraud in August 2016 by registering despite knowing he was ineligible. He was also charged with perjury for falsely declaring that he was a U.S. citizen and fraudulent voting for casting a ballot in the 2021 recall election.

Dow said the alleged offenses were not discovered until Oct. 23, 2026, allowing prosecutors to pursue the charges under a provision of California law addressing when crimes are discovered.

His office is also nearing charging decisions in 16 additional cases referred by federal authorities.

“California must never be allowed to be a sanctuary for illegal voting,” Dow said.

“A law that is not enforced is not a law at all, and if we want elections that people can trust, we have to enforce the most basic requirement: every Californian must be a U.S. citizen to vote.”

Dow emphasized that Ambos is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and that being included on a federal referral list does not automatically establish criminal wrongdoing.

“Every case will be decided on the evidence that we review independently, and some investigations may confirm that a person on the list was eligible,” Dow said.

Essayli praised the cooperation between federal and local prosecutors, saying the effort was about enforcing election laws rather than partisan politics.

“This isn’t political. This isn’t a federal thing. This is an American thing,” Essayli said.

Last week, three alleged noncitizens in Southern California were indicted by a federal grand jury on on elected fraud charges.

The three were identified as Mexican national Sulema De Leon, Cambodian national Butleng Taing and Canadian national Rouzbeh Seyamaknejad — all of whom are accused of illegally registering to vote, according to the Department of Justice.

De Leon, 35, of Long Beach, is accused of illegally registering to vote in 2013 before casting a ballot in 2020 while falsely denying to have claimed US citizenship, authorities said.

Taing, 43, also of Long Beach, is accused of illegally registering to vote in 2021, voting in 2022 and 2024, and falsely denying prior US citizenship claims.

Seyamaknejad, 63, of Rancho Palos Verdes, is accused of illegally registering to vote in 2018 and falsely denying to have claimed US citizenship.

The defendants were also part of Operation Protect the Vote” and were charged in federal courts with a range of crimes, including false statements in naturalization applications.

They were also identified from a list of more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens in the state who allegedly registered to vote in next month’s midterm election.

The California Post was there as Homeland Security Investigations swooped in on the City of Commerce home of Omar Alexander Muñoz, swiftly taking him into custody.

Muñoz, 72, a Belizean national, is accused of fraudulently registering to vote in September 2019, claiming he was a US citizen, according to prosecutors. He then voted in US elections in 2020, twice in 2022 and in 2024, court papers say.

Muñoz also allegedly lied on his application to become a naturalized US citizen, when he falsely stated under oath to have never claimed US citizenship, investigators say. He faces felony charges including making false statements in a naturalization application.

Essayli has repeatedly warned that upcoming midterm elections are under serious risk of being “corrupted.”

“Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” Essayli said previously.