Philippine Citizen Charged With Election Fraud Offenses

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Emily Custodio, 51, of Clementon, New Jersey, has been charged by indictment with one count of voter fraud and one count of voting by an alien.

The defendant made her initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday.

As alleged in the indictment, on or about July 18, 2020, Custodio, a citizen of the Philippines who does not hold American citizenship, applied online to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of State to register to vote in Pennsylvania. In doing so, the indictment alleges, the defendant falsely answered "Yes" to the question about whether she was a United States citizen.

On or about July 21, 2020, based on the information allegedly provided by Custodio, including the false statement that she was a U.S. citizen, her application to register to vote was accepted and she was successfully registered to vote in Pennsylvania.

The indictment further alleges that, on or about November 3, 2020, Custodio appeared in person at her assigned Philadelphia County polling place to cast a vote in the 2020 general election. The defendant allegedly presented photo identification, signed her name in the pollbook next to the statement "I hereby certify that I am qualified to vote at this election…" and cast a vote in the 2020 general election, which included the election for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States.

"The integrity of our electoral system depends on every citizen having confidence that the process is fair, transparent, and free from manipulation," said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. "Election fraud of any sort undermines public trust in our system, and illegal voting by non-citizens dilutes the voice of lawful American voters."

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of six years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $350,000 fine.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy Potts and Mark Dubnoff.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.