Election Fraud Charges Filed Against 5 Suspects in Flushing, Queens City Council Primary
New York City, NY- In connection with the Flushing, Queens, New York City Council primary last year, five of the six suspects turned themselves in to the police on Thursday morning to face charges related to election fraud.
The six are accused of using fraudulent absentee ballots. They were all volunteers working for Yu-Ching James Pai, a contender for City-County District 20 in the June 2023 Primary.
“As alleged in this case, the defendants went to the Board of Elections and filed fraudulent absentee ballot applications on behalf of 23 voters they had never met,” said District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Thursday, the following people appeared in court to answer allegations of illicit voting, forging company records, and criminal possession of a forged instrument:
- Sydnee Pai, 19
- Li Zhen Wan, 46
- Yee Ping Yam, 53
- Lisbeth Cheng, 24
- Crystal You, 20
The former campaign treasurer and 19-year-old daughter of the candidate are among those charged.
The sixth defendant is not in the state and will turn himself in later.
The long-term investigation that led to the arrests started when fellow Republican Dany Chen claimed that Pai had engaged in voter fraud to win the district primary, and 23 complainants told authorities they had been denied their right to vote.
Without the consent of the voters, the prosecution claims to have cast 23 absentee votes in favor of Pai. After learning they had already cast their ballots at a polling location, the voters filed a complaint.
In this case, Pai has not been charged as reported by ABC-7 NY.
“Normally, you might expect 10% or even 20% of the votes to come via absentee ballots. But here, the numbers of absentee ballots were massive, and those absentee ballots were weighted heavily in favor of James Pai,” said Aaron Foldenauer, Dany Chen’s attorney.
In the end, Democratic candidate Sandra Ung was able to retain her seat in the general election.
In the primary, there was a narrow victory margin of just 181 votes.
“One of the most fundamental rights of American citizens is the right to vote, and any effort to harm the integrity of our elections is contrary to our nation’s democratic values,” Ung said. “I want to thank District Attorney Melinda Katz for her commitment to upholding the integrity of our elections, and I encourage all voters who believe that their vote has been compromised to reach out to the Board of Elections.”
After entering not guilty pleas on Thursday, all five of the accused were freed on their own recognizance. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail for the defendants.
The following scheduled court date is September 19.
