Federal agents arrested a Victorville man Thursday, Sept. 10, after he allegedly paid homeless people on Skid Row to sign ballot petitions using stolen voter identities.

James "Lord" Brass, 47, was taken into custody around 6 a.m. at a gas station near his home after a predawn surveillance operation, according to the New York Post. Brass had left his house around 4:45 a.m., surprising agents who were watching the residence. They tailed him and arrested him without incident.

Two alleged co-conspirators were also charged: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron in Kern County. Prosecutors say both worked as petition circulators for Brass.

All three face one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price each face an additional identity fraud count. Each count carries a maximum five-year federal prison sentence. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nandor F.R. Kiss and Michael G. Wheat.

The alleged scheme

The operation ran from February through August 2026, according to the federal indictment. Brass managed the team through his LLC, Pinnacle Brass, LAmag reported. No record of the company could be immediately located by that outlet.

On Feb. 27, Brass and Price allegedly set up a table on Skid Row, accessed a voter database to find names and addresses of registered California voters, and paid homeless individuals a few dollars each to sign ballot initiative petitions under those voters' names. Herron then registered the petitions in Ontario that same day, according to the indictment.

Brass and Herron allegedly signed declarations under penalty of perjury falsely stating they had personally witnessed the registered voters sign the petitions.

When federal investigators began asking questions, Brass texted Price in all caps, telling her to claim signatures were collected between Inglewood and Torrance: "NEVER EVER SAY DOWN TOWN [sic] LA," the indictment alleges.

Brass received approximately $41,600 from coordinators working with a petition management company, prosecutors said. Which ballot measures the signatures supported has not been publicly identified.

Officials respond

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the defendants "are charged with using stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law."

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that securing American elections from criminal interference is of the utmost importance to the FBI. Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, called the scheme an undue burden on taxpayers that sought to undermine democracy.

A pattern on Skid Row

The arrest follows a related case involving Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, of Marina del Rey. Armstrong was sentenced Aug. 31 to 18 months of probation and 120 hours of community service after pleading guilty to paying Skid Row residents to register to vote, the Westside Current reported. Armstrong also let homeless people use her own address so mail-in ballots would be sent to her home.

Brass was expected to make his initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Riverside. Prosecutors have not publicly linked the two cases.