NEWARK, N.J. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - New Jersey), published as received.
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County man and a Middlesex County woman, both aliens, were each charged with illegally voting in a federal election and making false statements while applying for United States citizenship, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced today.
Patrick Terrance Reid, 61, a Jamaican national and resident of Orange, New Jersey, and Danubis Bernat, 49, a Venezuelan national and resident of South Amboy, New Jersey, were each charged by separate complaints with voting by an alien in a federal election and making false statements while applying for United States citizenship. Reid had his initial appearance on September 24, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in federal court in Newark. Bernat had her initial appearance on September 24, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in federal court in Trenton.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Reid and Bernat were non-citizens when they registered to vote. In their voter registration forms they each falsely certified and attested that they were United States citizens. In order to register, and to vote in federal elections, a person must be a United States citizen.
Each of the defendants, still without United States citizenship, cast ballots in at least one federal election. Reid voted in-person in the presidential elections held in November 2012 and November 2016, and via mail-in ballot in the presidential elections in November 2020 and November 2024. Bernat voted in-person in the 2024 general election. Each of those elections included candidates who were vying for election to federal offices. At the time they cast their respective ballots, Reid, who entered the United States from Jamaica on an SA1 immigrant visa, and Bernat, who entered the United States from Venezuela on a B-2 tourist visa, were not United States citizens and were therefore not authorized to vote in federal elections.
After illegally voting in federal elections, each of the defendants applied to become a United States citizen by submitting applications for naturalization (an N-400). An N-400 requires the applicant to swear under penalty of perjury that the information provided in the application is complete, true, and correct. In their respective N-400 application, both Reid and Bernat falsely claimed that they had never registered to vote or voted in any federal elections.
The counts of voting by an alien, carry a maximum sentence of 1 year’s imprisonment, and a fine of up to $100,000. The counts of making false statements while applying for United States citizenship carry a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy; and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with the investigations.
The cases were brought under the United States Attorney’s Office’s Election Integrity Task Force, a coalition of federal law enforcement partners focused on preserving and protecting the integrity of elections conducted in the District of New Jersey.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McCarren and Joseph McFarlane of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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