Rouzbeh Seyamaknejad
Introduction
Rouzbeh Seyamaknejad is a 63-year-old Canadian national who lived in Rancho Palos Verdes, a city in Los Angeles County, California. In October 2026, he was charged in a federal indictment with making a false statement under oath on his application to become a naturalized United States citizen. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, he is one of three foreign nationals from Los Angeles County indicted the same day for allegedly registering to vote in California and then denying it under oath on their naturalization forms. The case remains at the charging stage: an indictment contains allegations only, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background Information
Details about Seyamaknejad’s life and career are scarce; the public record consists almost entirely of the Justice Department’s October 2026 announcement. That release identifies him as a Canadian national, age 63, residing in Rancho Palos Verdes. According to the indictment, by January 2024 he was seeking naturalization — a process whose application form requires applicants to declare under penalty of perjury whether they have ever claimed to be U.S. citizens or ever registered to vote in any U.S. election. Prosecutors allege he denied both, even though he had registered to vote in California years earlier.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. Rouzbeh Seyamaknejad faces a federal indictment alleging a false statement under oath on a naturalization application. An indictment merely contains allegations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, a federal grand jury indicted Seyamaknejad on October 28, 2026, charging him in a separate indictment with making a false statement under oath on a naturalization application. The announcement named two other Los Angeles County residents charged the same day in parallel, separate indictments: Sulema de León, 35, a Mexican national of Long Beach, and Butleng Taing, 43, a Cambodian national, also of Long Beach.
The indictment alleges that in January 2024, Seyamaknejad knowingly made false statements under oath on his naturalization form, declaring under penalty of perjury that he had never claimed to be a U.S. citizen and had never registered to vote in any U.S. election. According to the release, that declaration was untrue: prosecutors allege that in December 2018, more than five years earlier, Seyamaknejad registered to vote in California, falsely declaring under oath at that time that he was a United States citizen. The release alleges only that he registered; it does not allege that Seyamaknejad ever cast a ballot. By contrast, the parallel indictments against de León and Taing describe registrations in June 2013 and July 2021 and allege that both voted in later elections.
Announcing the cases, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said the grand jury “has started returning indictments against noncitizens who registered to vote, including those who voted in prior elections,” and framed the office’s work as safeguarding “the integrity of our elections.” The release states that if convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating these matters, and Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Wheat and Minjae Kim of the Orange County Office are prosecuting the cases.
Public Reaction and Consequences
As of late October 2026, the documented public response comes from the government itself: the U.S. Attorney’s Office publicized the indictments on the day the grand jury returned them, presenting the three cases as part of an election-fraud enforcement effort. Essayli’s wording — that the grand jury “has started” returning such indictments — signaled that additional cases were anticipated, and the office described the investigation and charging of election fraud as a continuing priority. The immediate consequence for Seyamaknejad is a federal criminal charge that must now be answered in court. He faces prosecution in the Central District of California and, upon conviction, a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. No verdict, plea, or sentence exists yet, and the release itself stresses that the charges are allegations against defendants presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Current Status
Seyamaknejad’s case is pending as of late October 2026. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on October 28, 2026, and announced the same day by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating these matters, and Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Wheat and Minjae Kim of the Orange County Office are prosecuting the cases. If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. The release does not state an arraignment date, whether a plea has been entered, or a trial date. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The release says nothing about Seyamaknejad’s occupation, family, or personal circumstances beyond his age, nationality, and city of residence. Its account of impact is confined to the criminal case: he has been indicted, must now defend against a federal felony charge, and — if convicted — would face up to five years in federal prison. Because the charge arises from his naturalization application, the case also casts his pursuit of U.S. citizenship into question, though the release does not describe the application’s current status. Any further professional or personal consequences are not documented in the available record.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, “Federal Grand Jury Indicts 3 Foreign Nationals Who Registered to Vote in California, Charging Them with Lying on Naturalization Forms” — source