In a predawn raid in Riverside County, federal agents busted James “Lord” Brass on charges that he and two other people on the payroll of his small consulting firm paid Skid Row residents to sign ballot measures using stolen identities of registered California voters, the FBI announced Thursday morning.
Brass, 47, was busted along with two “petition circulators,” who worked for him, Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron in Kern County. All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony, federal prosecutors say.
The indictment says the trio then paid Skid Row residents a few dollars each to sign ballot measure petitions in the names of existing registered voters. According to the indictment, Brass hired the workers through his LLC Pinnacle Brass, a small company registered with the California Secretary of State. But no record of the company could be immediately located…