Michigan's attorney general just handed out criminal charges on five non-citizens who allegedly cast ballots in the 2024 election. AG Dana Nessel made the bombshell announcement on Thursday, and the details are absolutely wild.
As reported, the accusations range from fraudulent voter registration to perjury to election forgery. Oh, and a U.S. citizen got swept up too, allegedly signing her non-citizen husband up to vote. Six people total now face criminal consequences.
Let's meet the defendants. Michael Akioya, 39, from Oak Park, holds a green card but is not a U.S. citizen. Prosecutors say he registered using an Inkster address back in 2016 and then mailed in an absentee ballot last November, swearing he was a citizen on the paperwork. He faces two misdemeanor counts and returns to court on August 25th.
Alondra Harker, 26, a limited-term alien resident from Three Rivers, allegedly walked right into a polling location and voted in person. She got hit with a fraudulent registration charge carrying up to 90 days.
Here's where it gets spicy. Harumi Michael, 60, from Wolverine Lake, faces the heaviest stack of charges. Two five-year felony counts for election forgery, a four-year felony for trying to vote while unqualified, plus a misdemeanor. Her case landed in Oakland County Circuit Court with a pretrial set for August 27th.
Then there's Robert Piva, 67, from Roseville. This guy allegedly registered online in September 2024, voted early the next month, and then told prosecutors he did it all as an "experiment concerning voter fraud." Sure, buddy. He's looking at multiple felonies with potential prison time of four to five years.
The fifth defendant might be the wildest story of them all. Basanth Sadasivian, 29, currently lives in the United Kingdom. Prosecutors allege he used a Bloomfield Hills address and the Federal Post Card Application system to both register and cast a ballot from overseas. He faces a four-year felony, and no court date has been set yet.
Now for the American citizen in hot water. Kimberley DiDonato, 60, from Rose Township, allegedly impersonated her green-card-holding husband online, submitted his personal details, lied about his citizenship status, and registered him in April 2024. She later called her local clerk to cancel it after a voter card showed up at their house. Her excuse? She claims she was "testing the system for vulnerabilities." Prosecutors were not amused, slapping her with election forgery and computer crime charges carrying up to seven years behind bars.
The investigation started when the Michigan Department of State and the AG's office reviewed suspected non-citizen voting. They examined 38 total cases. Six resulted in charges, ten got closed without prosecution, and 22 remain under review.
Some cases that didn't result in charges are equally jaw-dropping. One permanent resident allegedly voted eight times since 2011. Another voted four times between 2010 and 2024. Prosecutors couldn't prove they knew they were ineligible or determined that government actions might support an entrapment defense.
Nessel declared her office takes election crimes seriously and promised to hold "bad actors accountable." Every identified non-citizen voter has since had their registration canceled. The remaining 22 cases are still being investigated.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
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