A 56-year-old Nigerian, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, has been arrested in the United States for allegedly voting in American elections despite not being a US citizen.

Okafor, who was born in Aba, Abia State, was arrested on Wednesday morning and was expected to appear before a federal court in Boston later that day, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Court documents identified Okafor as a Nigerian citizen who obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022 but had not become a US citizen or applied for citizenship.

Prosecutors alleged that Okafor first registered to vote in July 2022, when she was not a US citizen, by signing a certification stating that she was a US citizen under penalty of perjury.

She was subsequently registered to vote by the City of Lynn and allegedly voted in the 2022 midterm elections.

The authorities further alleged that Okafor submitted another voter registration form in October 2023, again declaring herself a US citizen, and subsequently voted in the 2024 presidential primary election.

The charge of unlawfully voting as an alien carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000. Okafor could also face deportation after completing any sentence imposed.

The case was announced by US Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. Assistant US Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The prosecution said the case was being handled as part of the district’s Benefit & Voter Fraud Team, established in March 2026 to investigate alleged benefit and voter fraud across Massachusetts.

However, the US Attorney’s Office stressed that the allegations against Okafor had not been proven in court and that she remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.