Marina Del Rey resident sentenced to probation for paying homeless to register voters

In a federal court in Los Angeles, Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, also known as “Anika,” pleaded guilty to a felony for compensating homeless individuals on Skid Row to register to vote in a federal election. She offered small cash payments and permitted the use of her home address for mail-in ballots, raising concerns about ballot integrity. The plea covered a single count of paying another person to register to vote, and Judge Mark C. Scarsi sentenced her to 18 months of probation with a requirement of 120 hours of community service.

Prosecutors noted that Armstrong acted as a petition collector for unnamed coordinators who paid her for each registered voter signature. The sentencing occurs as the Justice Department expands a multi-state voter-fraud investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, targeting eight additional states.