Latest news with #RonnieWilliams
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Washington Post
Second defendant pleads guilty in Minnesota voter fraud case
MINNEAPOLIS — The second of two defendants from Nevada who were charged in Minnesota with conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud pleaded guilty Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced. Ronnie Williams, 58, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino in St. Paul. Court records don't say whether there was a formal plea agreement.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Second defendant pleads guilty in Minnesota voter fraud case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The second of two defendants from Nevada who were charged in Minnesota with conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud pleaded guilty Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced. Ronnie Williams, 58, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino in St. Paul. Court records don't say whether there was a formal plea agreement. 'Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy," Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement. "Any attempt to undermine that process through fraud will be investigated and prosecuted. This case sends a clear message — election fraud will not be tolerated in Minnesota.' Williams' co-defendant, Lorraine Lee Combs, 57, pleaded guilty June 24. Under her plea agreement, the prosecution and defense agreed that the nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence of zero to six months in prison, with one to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $20,000. The actual sentences will be determined by the judge. The charges carry statutory maximums of five years in prison. Sentencing dates have not been set. Both defendants will remain free in the meantime. Williams and Combs allegedly generated fictitious names and other data they used to fill out Minnesota voter registration forms in 2021 and 2022. The charging documents filed last month say Williams provided the completed forms to an entity that sought to register voters in Minnesota that is identified only as 'Foundation 1,' which paid him, and that he then split the proceeds with Combs. Combs and Williams were longtime romantic partners, according to the documents, which don't say how much they were paid. The documents also indicate that others were involved in the alleged conspiracy, but charges against them have not been announced. While voter fraud does happen occasionally, the country's processes provide many safeguards that generally keep it detectable and rare. When it happens, it tends to get caught and prosecuted. 'The extensive checks in Minnesota's voter registration process ensured that the fraudulent applications were immediately flagged, and no ineligible votes were cast,' Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement when the charges were announced. The announcements from prosecutors said the two are Nevada residents who formerly lived in Minnesota. The federal court documents don't specify which cities, but Minnesota court records show they were evicted from a West St. Paul apartment building in 2023.
Associated Press
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Second defendant pleads guilty in Minnesota voter fraud case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The second of two defendants from Nevada who were charged in Minnesota with conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud pleaded guilty Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced. Ronnie Williams, 58, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino in St. Paul. Court records don't say whether there was a formal plea agreement. 'Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy,' Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement. 'Any attempt to undermine that process through fraud will be investigated and prosecuted. This case sends a clear message — election fraud will not be tolerated in Minnesota.' Williams' co-defendant, Lorraine Lee Combs, 57, pleaded guilty June 24. Under her plea agreement, the prosecution and defense agreed that the nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence of zero to six months in prison, with one to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $20,000. The actual sentences will be determined by the judge. The charges carry statutory maximums of five years in prison. Sentencing dates have not been set. Both defendants will remain free in the meantime. Williams and Combs allegedly generated fictitious names and other data they used to fill out Minnesota voter registration forms in 2021 and 2022. The charging documents filed last month say Williams provided the completed forms to an entity that sought to register voters in Minnesota that is identified only as 'Foundation 1,' which paid him, and that he then split the proceeds with Combs. Combs and Williams were longtime romantic partners, according to the documents, which don't say how much they were paid. The documents also indicate that others were involved in the alleged conspiracy, but charges against them have not been announced. While voter fraud does happen occasionally, the country's processes provide many safeguards that generally keep it detectable and rare. When it happens, it tends to get caught and prosecuted. 'The extensive checks in Minnesota's voter registration process ensured that the fraudulent applications were immediately flagged, and no ineligible votes were cast,' Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement when the charges were announced. The announcements from prosecutors said the two are Nevada residents who formerly lived in Minnesota. The federal court documents don't specify which cities, but Minnesota court records show they were evicted from a West St. Paul apartment building in 2023.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Second defendant pleads guilty in Minnesota voter fraud case
The second of two defendants from Nevada who were charged in Minnesota with conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud pleaded guilty Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced. Ronnie Williams, 58, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino in St. Paul. Court records don't say whether there was a formal plea agreement. 'Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy," Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement. "Any attempt to undermine that process through fraud will be investigated and prosecuted. This case sends a clear message — election fraud will not be tolerated in Minnesota.' Williams' co-defendant, Lorraine Lee Combs, 57, pleaded guilty June 24. Under her plea agreement, the prosecution and defense agreed that the nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence of zero to six months in prison, with one to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $20,000. The actual sentences will be determined by the judge. The charges carry statutory maximums of five years in prison. Sentencing dates have not been set. Both defendants will remain free in the meantime. Williams and Combs allegedly generated fictitious names and other data they used to fill out Minnesota voter registration forms in 2021 and 2022. The charging documents filed last month say Williams provided the completed forms to an entity that sought to register voters in Minnesota that is identified only as 'Foundation 1,' which paid him, and that he then split the proceeds with Combs. Combs and Williams were longtime romantic partners, according to the documents, which don't say how much they were paid. The documents also indicate that others were involved in the alleged conspiracy, but charges against them have not been announced. While voter fraud does happen occasionally, the country's processes provide many safeguards that generally keep it detectable and rare. When it happens, it tends to get caught and prosecuted. 'The extensive checks in Minnesota's voter registration process ensured that the fraudulent applications were immediately flagged, and no ineligible votes were cast,' Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement when the charges were announced. The announcements from prosecutors said the two are Nevada residents who formerly lived in Minnesota. The federal court documents don't specify which cities, but Minnesota court records show they were evicted from a West St. Paul apartment building in 2023.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State agency says voter registration forms submitted with fake IDs did not lead to votes
Jun. 13—By Paul Walsh, Star Tribune (TNS) A foundation paid for voter registration applications to be filled out with names of nonexistent people and submitted them to county election offices in Minnesota, according to federal charges against a Twin Cities couple. Lorraine Lee Combs, 57, and Ronnie Williams, 58, both of West St. Paul, were charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis with conspiracy to engage in voter registration fraud. They are accused of selling hundreds of voter registration forms they completed with fake identities in 2021 and 2022. Combs and Williams, who are described in the charges as longtime romantic partners, were charged through a judicial process called information, which indicates to the court their intention to plead guilty. The charging documents do not identify the foundation involved, other than to say it was engaged in a voter registration campaign. "There were no ballots cast in connection with this," said Cassondra Knudson, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office, which oversees elections in the state. On Friday, Knudson issued a detailed statement about how the scheme was uncovered and how her office determined that no fraudulent votes were cast in any of what she estimated were 10 to 15 counties where the suspicious applications were submitted: "For more than two years, our office and local election officials have partnered with the FBI on this investigation. Local election officials used the verification tools built into the Minnesota voter registration system and identified inconsistencies on voter registration forms. "Local election officials then immediately reported the inconsistencies to law enforcement and our office. ... Our office coordinated with every county election office to ensure that all fraudulent registration attempts would be detected. Further, our office worked with local election officials to confirm that no ballots were requested or cast." In an interview Thursday with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Combs said she filled out roughly 500 forms as part of the scheme and turned them over to Williams. Combs said she was "basically, just a third party" and did not know the name of the foundation. She did not say how much money she was paid. She said she didn't know how many applications Williams illegally completed or if any fraudulent voters were cast because of their actions. Combs is scheduled to make her first court appearance on June 24, and Williams is due in court Monday. His attorney declined to comment about the allegations. According to the charges, Williams and Combs made up names, addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers and Social Security numbers to fill out voter registration applications. They would then sign a form certifying they understood that giving such false information was a felony with punishment of up to five years in prison or a fine of $10,000 or both. On one application in September 2022, Combs used the name "Brad Montly" and "Harry Jhonson" about a month later. Williams turned over the applications to intermediaries who gave them to the foundation, which "would submit these false voter registration applications to county election offices across the state of Minnesota." The foundation paid Williams for the applications, and he would split the money with Combs. The charges did not say how much money was involved, or specify which election offices received the applications and whether they raised suspicions. A U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman declined to disclose further details about the investigation beyond what is alleged in the charges. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has consistently defended the integrity of elections in Minnesota, amid unsubstantiated suspicions of widespread election fraud aired by President Donald Trump and his allies. During the 2020 election cycle, Simon said the system was "safe, secure and time-tested." Charges of illegal voting are filed from time to time in Minnesota, often involving people whose criminal records make them ineligible to cast a ballot. Election contests decided by the narrowest margins are rare, but they do occur. Last November, two municipal elections in cities southwest of Duluth ended in a tie and needed low-tech solutions to determine the winners. In Wrenshall, Mayor Gary Butala and challenger Jeff Bloom each collected 143 votes. Bloom prevailed when the City Council drew his name out of a hat. In Kettle River, City Council candidates Patricia Lund and Laura Simi landed in a 33-33 tie. Playing cards were drawn, and Lund pulled the higher number. More famously, Democratic challenger Al Franken defeated Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in their 2008 U.S. Senate election battle by 312 votes out of more than 2.9 million cast. Challenges to the vote count lasted several months and kept Franken from taking office until July 2009.
