“TAKE A FEW DOLLARS AND SIGN MY PETITION”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY 64-YEAR-OLD BRENDA LEE BROWN ARMSTRONG PAID HOMELESS PEOPLE ON SKID ROW TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN A TWO-DECADE SCHEME… AND SHE HAS AVOIDED A FIVE-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO A FEDERAL FELONY.
Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, is a resident of Marina Del Rey.
She is also known by the name “Anika.”
In May, Armstrong agreed to a federal plea deal.
She pled guilty to one felony count of paying another person to register to vote in a federal election.
Under federal statute, Armstrong faced up to five years in prison.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi sentenced her to 18 months of probation.
Judge Scarsi also ordered Armstrong to perform 120 hours of community service.
She avoided any time behind bars.
She likely received a lighter sentence because she cooperated with federal prosecutors.
The conviction stemmed from what court documents describe as a 20-year scheme tied to illegal petition signature collection.
According to a plea agreement obtained by the California Post, Armstrong paid homeless people living on Skid Row to register to vote.
Armstrong also permitted homeless individuals to use her own home address when filling out voter registration forms.
That arrangement meant mail-in ballots could be delivered directly to her residence, the plea agreement states.
Prosecutors said Armstrong deliberately targeted Skid Row because of its large and desperate homeless population concentrated in a relatively small area.
Those individuals would easily accept the cash payments she offered to sign the petitions, prosecutors said.
The payments Armstrong offered ranged from $2 to $3 per person.
Armstrong worked as a petition collector for several vendors and individuals known as “coordinators.”
Prosecutors have not publicly named those vendors or coordinators.
The vendors paid Armstrong a set fee for each registered voter signature she collected.
But the illicit operation drew sharp rebukes from senior Justice Department officials.
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Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon criticized Armstrong in an official statement regarding the case.
“False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,” said Dhillon.
“This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling – so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence.”
Armstrong’s sentencing arrived as federal authorities expanded election-related criminal investigations in California and nationwide.
Beginning next week, law enforcement officials are scheduled to launch a massive criminal investigation into California voter fraud as part of a multi-state enforcement push.
Sources with knowledge of the plan said the sweeping operation will be carried out by Homeland Security Investigations.
The federal initiative targets eight other states in addition to California.
Those states include New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, Washington, Nevada, Wisconsin and Missouri.
According to an internal memo explained to the California Post, the HSI operation will function as a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative to pursue investigative leads, conduct field interviews, and support timely prosecutorial review.”
And the broader initiative aligns with stepped-up local efforts by top Los Angeles federal prosecutor Bill Essayli and Homeland Security investigators.
Essayli’s office is pursuing multiple cases involving alleged voting offenses.
Among those matters is an ongoing, separate Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into voter fraud on Skid Row.
That separate FBI investigation is also examining allegations of cash payments distributed to homeless residents.
In June, the California Post observed roughly 20 federal agents conducting interviews with homeless people in downtown Los Angeles.
Those field interviews followed claims that homeless individuals had been offered cash bribes to complete multiple voter registration forms and forge signatures.
FBI Director Kash Patel publicly praised the enforcement push on social media.
“Securing our elections is of the upmost priority for this FBI!” he wrote on X.
“If you mess with our elections we will find you!”
Federal agents conducted the interviews.
They gathered the claims.
The multi-state investigation begins next week.
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