PHILADELPHIA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Eastern), published as received.
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Emily Custodio, 52, a citizen of the Philippines, entered a plea of guilty this afternoon before United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to voting by an alien. Under both federal and state law, only U.S. citizens may vote in Pennsylvania.
The defendant was charged by indictment in September of last year.
As detailed in court filings and statements, on July 18, 2020, Custodio applied online to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of State to register to vote in Pennsylvania, falsely answering “Yes” to the question about whether she was a United States citizen.
On July 21, 2020, based on the information provided by Custodio, including her false answer to the citizenship question, her application to register to vote was accepted and she was successfully registered to vote in Pennsylvania.
On November 3, 2020, Custodio appeared in person at her assigned Philadelphia County polling place to cast a vote in the 2020 general election. She signed her name in the poll book next to the statement “I hereby certify that I am qualified to vote at this election…” and cast a vote in the 2020 general election, which included the election for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16 and faces a maximum possible sentence of one year in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine.
