HOUSTON — A 63-year-old British citizen living in Katy, Texas, pleaded guilty to illegal voting by aliens and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship after casting ballots in five federal elections over more than a decade, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced.
Ada Ngozi Otuka admitted she illegally voted in the 2020 federal election and falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen when filling out her Texas voter registration and statement of residence. Although Otuka is a lawful permanent resident, she is precluded from voting in U.S. elections. Records show she voted in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2024.
Otuka received a notice in 2025 that her registration status was being examined because information had been received regarding her lack of U.S. citizenship. She did not respond. She later filled out a naturalization application in 2025 that indicated she had voted unlawfully.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett will impose sentencing Nov. 5. Otuka faces up to five years in federal prison for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and another year for the conviction of illegal voting. She could also be ordered to pay up to a $250,000 maximum fine.
In a separate but similar case, another citizen of the United Kingdom also entered a plea in May to unlawfully voting. Samuel James Hall, 50, legally resided in Houston but, like Otuka, cannot cast ballots in U.S. elections. Hall admitted to illegally voting in the 2024 federal election.
The FBI’s Houston field office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office conducted the investigations with the assistance of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Liesel Roscher is prosecuting both cases.
Otuka’s sentencing before Judge Bennett is scheduled for Nov. 5.