Mahyar Nikzad

Introduction

Mahyar Nikzad, 35, an Iranian national living in Canoga Park, was charged November 2, 2026, in a federal criminal complaint alleging he illegally registered to vote in California, voted in two U.S. elections, and then lied about it under penalty of perjury on his naturalization application . According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, Nikzad registered in September 2024 and checked the box reading “I am a U.S. citizen” on his voter registration form; records indicate he voted in the March 2024 and November 2024 U.S. elections . He was one of six additional foreign nationals charged that day in Los Angeles County as part of “Operation Protect the Vote,” the ongoing federal election-fraud initiative that has now charged 34 defendants, and he was among the five arrested and scheduled to make an initial appearance that afternoon in U.S. District Court . If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison .

Background Information

Operation Protect the Vote is a coordinated federal effort in California to root out fraud in U.S. elections, run by the U.S. Attorney’s office with Homeland Security Investigations . First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced the six new charges at a November 2 press conference, days before the 2026 midterm election, as part of an initiative that has charged 34 people for allegedly illegally registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections . Every defendant charged in the operation is a lawful permanent resident holding a “green card,” which the Justice Department notes does not legally permit a holder to register to vote or vote in U.S. elections . The defendants were drawn from a list of roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizen registrants that the federal government compiled from California voter registration records reviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and sent to state election officials; federal authorities included individuals only when immigration records confirmed they were not U.S. citizens .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not tried. The claims in this section come from affidavits filed with federal criminal complaints announced November 2, 2026, which the Justice Department states contain only allegations. Nikzad has not been indicted or tried, is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and no public statement from him or his attorney appears in the coverage.

According to the affidavit, Nikzad illegally registered to vote in September 2024 and, under penalty of perjury, checked the box on his voter registration form reading “I am a U.S. citizen” . Records indicate that he then voted in the March 2024 and November 2024 U.S. elections — the presidential primary and the general election . In February 2026, when he applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, he under penalty of perjury falsely stated that he had never claimed to be a U.S. citizen and denied ever registering to become a U.S. voter, per the complaint . The New York Post, citing Essayli, adds that Nikzad registered after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen and lied under oath at his February 2026 citizenship application by denying that he had ever claimed citizenship, registered to vote or participated in an election . The complaint also charges his five co-defendants — Sirgalahad Camua, 43, of Palmdale; Krystel Capi Valle, 31, of Palmdale; Moria Dahan, 35, of West Hills; Chad Goertz, 52, of Agua Dulce; and Gilberto Ruiz, 46, of Palmdale — on parallel allegations of illegal registration, voting and false statements on naturalization forms, all scheduled for initial appearances Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court .

Public Reaction and Consequences

Essayli framed the charges as a warning to noncitizen registrants: “Every vote does matter,” he said at the presser. “It doesn’t take many illegal votes to corrupt our elections” . In his announced statement he said, “Every illegal vote cast and counted cancels the legitimate vote of an American citizen. We will continue to arrest and prosecute those who threaten our democratic republic through unlawful vote dilution” . Erin Burke, HSI’s Special Agent in Charge in Los Angeles, said HSI “will follow the evidence wherever it leads and work to hold accountable those who violate federal law” . The Post noted the other side of the ledger as well: being identified as a noncitizen on a voter registration list does not necessarily establish that someone illegally cast a ballot, and Essayli said federal prosecutors do not intend to charge all 20,000 people on the referral list — “Our goal is not to charge all 20,000 people. Our goal is to get California to not count the votes of non-citizens” .

Current Status

Nikzad was arrested November 2, 2026 — one of five of the six newly charged defendants already in custody that morning — and was scheduled to make his initial appearance that afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles . The case is at the criminal-complaint stage: the Justice Department states a complaint contains merely allegations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and no indictment of Nikzad appears in the coverage . If convicted on the false-statement charge, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison . Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Wheat and Minjae Kim of the Justice Department’s Orange County office are prosecuting the cases, with HSI as the investigating agency .

Impact on Their Career/Life

Nikzad’s complaint shows the mechanics of the enforcement campaign rather than a single lapse: registration under a false citizenship attestation, ballots cast in two elections, and a sworn denial on the naturalization form three years later that prosecutors say contradicted his own registration record . The February 2026 citizenship application he allegedly lied on was the application that could have made his voting legal — the false statements charge is built on the naturalization file itself . The operation around him has consequences beyond the six: San Luis Obispo County’s district attorney filed state felonies against a seventh defendant the same day and reported charging decisions nearing in 16 more referred cases, and the same-week federal filings sought emergency Supreme Court intervention to have California segregate ballots connected to the 20,000-name list while eligibility is examined .

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, US Attorney’s Office Central District of California, “Six Additional Foreign Nationals in L.A. County Who Registered to Vote and Voted in U.S. Elections Charged with Lying on Naturalization Forms,” November 2, 2026 — source
NY Post (Marina Peña), “Six noncitizens in California charged over alleged illegal voting,” November 2, 2026 — source
Antelope Valley Press (City News Service), “Foreign nationals allegedly illegally registered to vote,” November 3, 2026 — source
MyNewsLA (City News Service), “6 Foreign Nationals in LA Accused of Illegally Registering to Vote,” November 2, 2026 — source