CALIFORNIA—On September 10, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced that James Brass, 47, of Victorville in San Bernardino County, who is otherwise known as the “Lord” of Victorville, had been arrested by agents from the Los Angeles Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A federal grand jury indictment against him was unsealed the day before.
Brass is accused of paying Skid Row residents in Downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using identities stolen from registered voters to qualify ballot initiatives in California elections. The indictment also names two co-defendants: Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California, and Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida. They worked for Brass as petition circulators. The grand jury indictment further alleges that Brass led a team of signature collectors and collected some signatures himself.
Each defendant faces one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud, a state felony. Brass and Price also face an additional count each of identity fraud, a state felony.
The prosecutors allege that between February 2026 and August 2026, the defendants obtained the names of registered California voters from a database. Price and Brass then gave the information to homeless residents, who were paid to write the names on the petitions and sign them. Heron and Brass then signed the bottom of the petitions, claiming they had witnessed registered voters signing and that the signatures were authentic. Afterward, the petition coordinators received the petitions, which led to the alleged false signatures being counted. It is also alleged that Brass knew the fraudulent signatures would result in payment from a management company, and that he received about $41,600 from petition coordinators.
He was arraigned on September 10 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Riverside. He pleaded not guilty to both counts and was released on a $10,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. If convicted, all three defendants could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.
In October 1911, California adopted its statewide initiative process, which allows citizens to bypass the State Legislature and enact constitutional amendments and new laws through ballot initiatives. To appear on the 2026 ballot, a proposed statute must receive 546,651 signatures. To qualify, a proposed constitutional amendment must receive 874,641 signatures. The person who proposed the initiative must gather all signatures within 180 days and submit them no more than 130 days before an election.
