Victorville Man Arrested In Alleged Scheme To Pay People On Skid Row To Sign Petitions Using Stolen Voter Identities

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (VVNG.com) — A 47-year-old Victorville man was arrested Thursday on federal charges alleging he helped pay people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign California ballot initiative petitions using stolen identities of registered voters.

James Brass, 47, a.k.a. “Lord,” of Victorville, was arrested Thursday morning, September 10, 2026, and was expected to make his initial appearance that afternoon in U.S. District Court in Riverside, according to a written statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Brass was charged alongside two petition circulators who prosecutors said worked for him: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron.

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

“These defendants are charged with using stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “They allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks. The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems, and we will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved.”

According to the indictment, Brass managed a team of signature collectors and also collected signatures himself, while Price and Herron worked as signature collectors for him.

Federal prosecutors allege that from February through August 2026, the defendants used a database to identify registered California voters.

On Skid Row, Brass and Price allegedly provided petition signers with the stolen identities of those voters and paid them to copy the voters’ personal information onto ballot initiative petitions and fraudulently sign the petitions in the voters’ names.

After the petitions were signed, prosecutors allege Brass and Herron signed declarations at the bottom of the petitions falsely stating, under penalty of perjury, that they personally witnessed the registered voters sign them and that each signature was, to the best of their knowledge, “the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.”

Brass and Herron then allegedly submitted the petitions to several petition coordinators despite knowing the representations concerning the signatures’ authenticity were false.

Prosecutors further allege Brass knew the false representations would result in him being paid by a petition management company.

According to the indictment, Brass received approximately $41,600 from coordinators working with one such petition management company.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said California’s ballot initiative process allows voters to enact laws or constitutional amendments without going through the California State Legislature.

To qualify an initiative for a 2026 ballot, proponents were required to submit 546,651 signatures for a proposed statute or 874,641 signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment, according to court documents cited by prosecutors.

“It is imperative that Americans have confidence in our voting system and election infrastructure” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The scheme outlined in today’s indictment sought to undermine an essential pillar of our democracy and cause an undue burden on taxpayers. We will remain vigilant in detecting those trying to weaken our political process and we will aggressively investigate any allegations of voter fraud or other election crimes.”

According to a New York Post article, Brass allegedly ran his scheme through a small company he owns called Pinnacle Brass, which is registered with the California Secretary of State.

If convicted, each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count. An indictment contains allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nandor F.R. Kiss of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Michael G. Wheat of the Orange County Office are prosecuting the case.

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