LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities on Thursday arrested James Brass, 47, of Victorville — also known as “Lord” — on a federal grand jury indictment returned Wednesday alleging a scheme to pay people on Los Angeles’ Skid Row to forge registered voters’ names and addresses onto ballot initiative petitions, the Los Angeles Times reported. Brass was expected to make an initial appearance Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

Co-defendants Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Fla., and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, Calif., were also charged. The Times reported they had not yet been arrested. All three face conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony; Brass and Price also face an identity-fraud count. Each count carries up to five years in federal prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California as quoted by LAT and NBC Los Angeles.

Prosecutors say that from February through August 2026 the defendants used a voter database to identify registered Californians, then Brass and Price allegedly handed those identities to paid Skid Row signers who copied names and personal information onto petitions and signed as those voters — a scheme aimed at helping qualify initiatives for the ballot, not stuffing ballot boxes. Brass and Herron then allegedly signed false witness declarations under penalty of perjury claiming they had seen the named voters sign and that the signatures were genuine.

Brass allegedly managed signature collectors through Pinnacle Brass LLC and collected signatures himself. Prosecutors say he received about $41,600 from petition-management coordinators after turning in the fraudulent petitions. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli labeled the case “California Election Fraud” and said the defendants “allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks,” adding that the charged conduct “undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems.” The FBI’s Los Angeles field office is investigating, per coverage citing the federal announcement.

Fox News separately reported Brass was taken into custody early Thursday in Victorville and quoted FBI Director Kash Patel on X: “If you mess with our elections, the FBI will find you.” Charges are allegations; none of the defendants has been convicted.

Petition-qualify fraud is state-power adjacent: initiative signatures are how California lets citizens bypass the Legislature, and forged witness declarations turn that channel into a paid identity pipeline. The indictment’s public account is database → Skid Row signers → false declarations → coordinator pay — not a generic “ballot harvesting” slogan.

Sources