Three people charged with paying homeless in Los Angeles to sign petitions with stolen identities

James Brass, 47, was arrested on a federal indictment charging him with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions with stolen identities of registered voters, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced Thursday. 

The petitions were to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections. 

Two other petition circulators who worked for Brass were charged in the indictment: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California, Essayli said in a post on X. 

All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. 

"The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems. We will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved in corrupting our elections," Essayli said. 

The indictment follows an undercover investigation from March in which independent journalist James O'Keefe caught people paying homeless people on Skid Row to forge real voters' signatures on ballot petitions.