Chinese National Charged With Voting Under Former Landlords Name in Massachusetts

A Chinese national living in Massachusetts has been charged with registering to vote and casting a ballot under his former landlord’s name in the 2024 presidential election, federal prosecutors said.Yupeng Sun, 33, of Andover, was arrested on Aug. 19 and charged by criminal complaint with one count of fraudulent voter registration and one count of fraudulent voting.A 15-page affidavit filed in federal court alleges that Sun used the identity and Massachusetts driver’s-license number of his former landlord, identified as J.L., to register to vote online in J.L.’s name on Oct. 10, 2024.J.L. is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident, commonly known as a green-card holder, and is not eligible to vote in federal elections.Three weeks later on Oct. 31, prosecutors allege, Sun went to Malden City Hall, identified himself as J.L., received an early ballot for the presidential election, and signed J.L.’s name on the ballot envelope.A Massachusetts voter-system record reproduced in the affidavit lists the ballot cast under J.L.’s name as “accepted” for the Nov. 5 election.The filing does not identify which candidates were selected on the ballot. The Epoch Times asked the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth and Malden election officials whether the ballot recorded as “accepted” under J.L.’s name was included in the final certified vote count. No response had been received by publication time.Victim Denied VotingJ.L. denied registering or voting in the 2024 election when federal investigators interviewed him on June 30, 2026, according to the affidavit.Investigators interviewed Sun outside his Andover residence on July 23 in a recorded, noncustodial interview.When agents showed him a screenshot of J.L.’s voter registration, Sun said he had registered J.L. online, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Andrew DePatto wrote in the affidavit.A screenshot from federal court documents in the voter-fraud case against Yupeng Sun, a Chinese national charged in Massachusetts on Aug. 19, 2026. U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times“I tell you the truth, I register,” Sun is quoted as saying.When agents showed him a photograph of the early-ballot envelope from Malden City Hall, Sun allegedly acknowledged voting under the other man’s identity.“I used his name to vote,” the affidavit quotes him as saying.The statements are recounted by the government in an affidavit submitted to establish probable cause. Sun has not been convicted, and the allegations have not been tested at trial.The filing says Sun is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. He last entered the United States in September 2020 on a tourist visa that expired in March 2021 and later received deferred-action status based on a U-visa application submitted in 2022.Green Cards ConfiscatedThe alleged use of J.L.’s identity began months before the voter registration, according to prosecutors.Sun rented a room from J.L.’s family in Malden for much of the period from 2021 to May 2023, the affidavit says. It also describes a dispute between Sun and the family that followed his departure.Yupeng Sun, 33, of Andover, Mass., is shown in an image included in federal court filings. Prosecutors charged him with fraudulent voter registration and fraudulent voting. Federal court filing/Screenshot via The Epoch TimesIn April 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processed two forms purporting to show that J.L. and his wife, identified as Y.L., were voluntarily abandoning their lawful permanent resident status.The forms included their names, dates of birth, immigration numbers, and copies of their green cards, according to the filing.When the couple returned from an overseas trip on June 3, 2024, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped them at Boston Logan International Airport because federal records indicated they had abandoned their permanent residency.Their green cards were confiscated and both were placed into removal proceedings, the affidavit says.The couple later told an immigration court that they had never signed or authorized the forms.A certified forensic document examiner concluded that neither J.L. nor Y.L. had signed them, according to the affidavit.At a Jan. 21 hearing, an immigration judge found the couple’s testimony credible and ordered their lawful permanent resident status restored, the filing says.When investigators showed Sun one of the immigration forms during the July interview, he acknowledged signing J.L.’s name, according to the affidavit.“I signature,” Sun is quoted as saying.The criminal complaint charges Sun only with the two voter-fraud offenses. The Justice Department described the immigration forms as fraudulent but did not announce separate charges related to them.Anonymous Reports Accused VictimFederal investigators began examining the voting allegation after receiving anonymous reports accusing J.L. himself of voting illegally.Homeland Security Investigations received two identical online tips in April 2026 saying J.L. had voted in the 2024 presidential election even though he was not a U.S. citizen, according to the affidavit.Similar reports were mailed to HSI and USCIS. They included information about J.L.’s voter registration and printouts of his registration status from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website.During his July interview, Sun acknowledged sending the reports, the affidavit says.“I went to post office and, uh, to report the father vote,” he is quoted as saying.Investigators also said electronic records linked Sun to the mailings. About two hours after his interview, Sun sent messages to one of the officers who had questioned him, according to the filing.“I know I have a high chance to be charged,” one message said.If Sun is convicted, each of the two charges against him carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The Justice Department said Sun would be subject to deportation after completing any sentence imposed.Sun’s initial appearance in federal court in Boston was scheduled for 2 p.m. on Aug. 19.Other Massachusetts CasesThe case comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts created a Benefit and Voter Fraud Team in March.In May, a federal judge sentenced Colombian national Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez to 33 months in prison after a jury convicted her of voter fraud and other offenses. Prosecutors said she had lived under a stolen identity for more than two decades and voted under that identity in the 2024 presidential election.In another case announced in May, prosecutors charged Canadian lawful permanent resident Sunny Manhertz with unlawfully voting in federal elections. That case remains pending.