New Delhi: A Chinese national living in Massachusetts has been arrested and charged with registering to vote and casting a ballot in the 2024 US presidential election using his former landlord’s identity, federal prosecutors said.
Yupeng Sun, 33, of Andover, was arrested on August 19 and charged by criminal complaint with fraudulent voter registration and fraudulent voting. Each offence carries up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine that the Justice Department said Sun would face deportation after sentencing.
The 15-page affidavit alleges that Sun used the identity and Massachusetts driver’s-license number of former landlord J.L. to register online in J.L.’s name on October 10, 2024. J.L., a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident, or green-card holder, is not eligible to vote in federal elections.
Ballot cast under another man’s name
On October 31, prosecutors allege, Sun went to Malden City Hall, identified himself as J.L., obtained an early presidential-election ballot and signed J.L.’s name on its envelope. A Massachusetts voter record lists the ballot as “accepted” for November 5.
The filing does not identify the candidates. J.L. told federal investigators on June 30, 2026, that he had neither registered nor voted. During a recorded, noncustodial July 23 interview outside Sun’s Andover residence, investigators showed him J.L.’s voter-registration screenshot. HSI Special Agent Andrew DePatto said Sun acknowledged registering J.L. online, reportedly saying, “I tell you the truth, I register.”
After seeing a photograph of the early-ballot envelope, Sun admitted using J.L.’s identity to vote, stating, “I used his name to vote.” The affidavit supports probable cause; Sun remains unconvicted.
Immigration documents and investigation
The affidavit identifies Sun as a Chinese citizen. He entered the United States in September 2020 on a tourist visa that expired in March 2021 and later obtained deferred-action status after submitting a U-visa application in 2022.
Aug 19: Yupeng Sun, a 🇨🇳 national residing in Andover, Massachusetts, was arrested for submitting a fraudulent voter registration and ballot in the 2024 presidential election in the name of another Chinese national. Sun also submitted two fraudulent immigration forms on behalf of… pic.twitter.com/Mqobkwf4aE
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) August 19, 2026
Sun rented a room from J.L.’s family in Malden from 2021 until May 2023, followed by a dispute after he left. In April 2024, USCIS processed forms claiming J.L. and his wife, Y.L., had voluntarily abandoned lawful permanent-resident status. The forms listed their names, birth dates, immigration numbers and green-card copies.
When the couple returned from an overseas trip on June 3, 2024, CBP officers stopped them at Boston Logan International Airport, confiscated their green cards and placed them in removal proceedings because records indicated abandonment of residency.
The couple told an immigration court they never signed or authorised the forms. A certified forensic document examiner concluded that neither had signed them. At a January 21 hearing, an immigration judge found their testimony credible and ordered their lawful permanent-resident status restored. During the July interview, Sun allegedly acknowledged signing J.L.’s name on one form, saying, “I signature.”
The complaint charges him only with the two voting offences that the Justice Department described the immigration documents as fraudulent but announced no separate charges.
Federal investigators began examining the voting allegation after anonymous reports accusing J.L. of voting illegally. HSI received two identical online tips in April 2026. Similar reports were mailed to HSI and USCIS with registration information and Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth website printouts. Sun reportedly admitted sending them, saying, “I went to post office and, uh, to report the father vote.” Electronic records linked him to the mailings.
About two hours after the July interview, Sun messaged an interviewing officer: “I know I have a high chance to be charged”.
The case follows creation of Massachusetts’ Benefit and Voter Fraud Team in March. In May, Colombian national Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez received 33 months in prison after a jury convicted her of voter fraud and other offences that prosecutors said she had lived under a stolen identity for more than two decades and voted under it in 2024.
Another May case charged Canadian lawful permanent resident Sunny Manhertz with unlawfully voting in federal elections, that case remains pending.
