A Queens man has been arraigned on a 140-count indictment, accused of orchestrating an extensive voter fraud scheme during the 2022 Democratic primary election, the county’s district attorney announced.
Abdul Rahman, 32, stands accused of allegedly submitting 20 fraudulent absentee ballot applications in August 2022 during the Democratic primary, according to a statement issued by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz on Dec. 19.
The charges against Mr. Rahman include 20 counts each of falsifying business records in the first degree, falsifying business records in the second degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree, and illegal voting.
“Every vote has to count,” Ms. Katz said in the statement, emphasizing the importance of election integrity as “the foundation of a viable, working democracy.”
“We will vigorously prosecute anyone who threatens in any way to undermine that integrity. To investigate and prosecute anyone for voter fraud takes time and resources I am willing to commit.”
Uncovering Alleged Election Fraud
The case came to light when Jordan Sandke attempted to vote in person during the Democratic primary in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens on Aug. 23, 2022, only to discover that an absentee ballot had already been requested in his name, preventing him from casting his ballot for his preferred candidate, according to the statement.
An investigation revealed that Mr. Rahman had submitted the application on behalf of Mr. Sandke, listing his name, address, and date of birth, on Aug. 1, 2022, without Mr. Sandke’s knowledge or authorization.
The district attorney’s office didn’t disclose the candidates for whom the ballots were cast.
“The application listed the defendant, Rahman, as an authorized representative to pick up the ballot. Sandke, however, hadn’t filled out, signed, or submitted the application, and said he'd never met the defendant or authorized him to pick up an absentee ballot on his behalf,” the Queens County district attorney’s office stated.
The charges detail a sophisticated operation in which, in addition to allegedly falsifying Mr. Sandke’s ballot, Mr. Rahman allegedly submitted 118 absentee ballot applications, designating himself as the authorized representative to pick up the ballots, on Aug. 8, 2022. Of these, 32 were approved, and Mr. Rahman allegedly collected the ballots the next day.
Law enforcement officials interviewed multiple individuals listed on the ballot applications and found that none of them had submitted the forms or authorized Mr. Rahman to collect ballots on their behalf.
He surrendered to the Queens district attorney’s office following the indictment.
Board of Elections Deputy Executive Director Vincent Ignizio said his organization was proud to have uncovered the alleged election fraud in the state and referred it to law enforcement.
“Our government partners in the Queens District Attorney’s Office did an amazing job at investigating this case and bringing it to indictment,” he said.
“Protecting our democracy and the elections process is the responsibility of all Americans—and the Board is grateful to District Attorney Melinda Katz and her staff for all of their efforts in this investigation.”
If convicted, Mr. Rahman could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
