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An illegal immigrant from Mauritania was charged with fraudulent voting after allegedly casting ballots in Pennsylvania in the last five presidential elections, prosecutors said.
Mahady Sacko, a 50-year-old Philadelphia resident who was ordered to be deported from the U.S. in 2000, “allegedly unlawfully voted in person in the 2024 general election for federal office,” and, “falsely represented that he was a U.S. citizen in order to vote and register to vote,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
An FBI special agent investigating the case said Pennsylvania state voting records showed Sacko also “voted in the following federal elections: the 2008 general election, the 2012 general election, the 2016 primary election, the 2016 general election, the 2020 primary election [and] the 2020 general election.”
“Sacko voted in person for each of these elections, except for the 2020 primary election, in which he voted by mail. On each occasion, Sacko falsely represented that he was a U.S. citizen,” the agent wrote in a criminal complaint.
Then-candidate for president, Donald Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris debated in Philadelphia, Pa., ahead of the 2024 presidential election. (Getty Images)
If convicted, Sacko faces a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison.
Fox News Digital has reached out to a lawyer representing Sacko and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further comment.
Voting records show Sacko had registered as a Democrat, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The complaint said Sacko entered the U.S. in Miami in March 1998.
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A Philadelphia County board of elections staff member operates a ballot scanning machine as she processes ballots on Election Day at a warehouse on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 5, 2024. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
“On June 14, 2000, an Immigration Judge in Philadelphia, PA ordered Sacko removed from the United States back to Mauritania. Sacko was present in Immigration Court for this decision. Sacko appealed the Immigration Judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). On November 14, 2002, the BIA dismissed Sacko’s appeal and affirmed the decision of the Immigration Judge. However, Sacko did not depart the United States as ordered by the Immigration Judge,” the complaint stated.
It added that Sacko was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Philadelphia in January 2007.
“However, Sacko did not have a current passport from Mauritania and ICE/ERO was unable to obtain one for him,” the complaint said. “As a result, ICE/ERO was unable to enforce the decision of the Immigration Judge and remove Sacko from the United States. Sacko was placed on supervision with ICE/ERO, which required him to regularly report to their office as an alien under an order of deportation.”
Voters drop off ballots on Election Day at Lackawanna County Government Center on Nov. 5, 2024, in Scranton, Pa. (Michael Santiago/Getty Images)
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The FBI special agent wrote in the complaint that Sacko checked in with ICE more than a dozen times, but he also registered to vote multiple times, with the first being in January 2005.
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