Voter fraud investigation in Florida leads to arrests of Russian, Uzbek nationals: DOJ

Two men, one from Russia and another from Uzbekistan, face federal charges after prosecutors say the pair submitted false voter registration applications to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.

The backstory:

According to the Justice Department, Russian citizen Dmitry Shushlebin, 45, and Uzbek citizen Sanjar Jamilov, 33, sent 132 fraudulent voter registration applications in February and March 2023.

Prosecutors said the men, who live in Florida, used fake names on the applications and sent them in envelopes with address labels that looked identical and contained an error.

The pair also repeated dates of birth and addresses while using a "nearly sequential" series of Social Security numbers, according to the DOJ.

Mugshot of Sanjar Jamilov. Courtesy: Pinellas County Jail.

Mugshot of Sanjar Jamilov. Courtesy: Pinellas County Jail.

Investigators used USPS change of address forms to help trace applications to three locations controlled by Shushlebin and Jamilov, prosecutors said.

Shushlebin and Jamilov are each charged with one count of conspiring to submit fraudulent voter registration applications and giving false information in registering to vote.

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What's next:

If convicted, Shushlebin and Jamilov face up to five years in prison.

The Source: This story was written using information provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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