A 63-year-old woman who lived in Katy pleaded guilty last week to illegally voting in Texas elections over more than a decade and to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on state voter registration forms.
Ada Ngozi Otuka, a citizen of the United Kingdom, admitted to voting unlawfully in the 2020 federal election and to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when she filled out her Texas voter registration and statement of residence. Court records show she is a lawful U.S. resident but is barred from voting in American elections.
Federal prosecutors said she cast ballots in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2024.
Otuka’s case stems from a 2025 referral by state election officials to the FBI and the Texas attorney general’s office identifying suspected illegal voters. Fort Bend County notified her in June 2025 that her voter registration status was under review because records indicated she was not a U.S. citizen. She did not respond to the notice, according to court filings.
A grand jury indicted Otuka in November 2025 on two counts of voting by a noncitizen, one count of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on a voter registration application, and two counts of attempted unlawful procurement of naturalization. Her plea agreement does not require her to plead guilty to the naturalization counts.
The naturalization application at the center of those charges was filed in April 2025. According to the indictment, Otuka misrepresented her marital history, prior names she had used, and whether she had committed an offense for which she had not been arrested. She also allegedly claimed U.S. citizenship on driver’s license forms in 2012, 2017, and 2018 without disclosing that conduct on her naturalization paperwork.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 5 before U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett. Otuka faces up to one year in federal prison on the illegal voting charge and up to five years on the false citizenship claim charge, for a maximum combined exposure of six years. She could also face a fine.
A guilty plea in this kind of case can carry immigration consequences beyond the criminal penalty. Otuka could face removal from the United States, denial of citizenship, or denial of future admission to the country as a result of her plea.
The case was investigated jointly by the FBI’s Houston field office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Texas attorney general’s office, with assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Otuka’s case is not an isolated incident. In a separate prosecution, Samuel James Hall, a 50-year-old UK citizen who lived in Houston, pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally voting in the 2024 federal election. Like Otuka, Hall held legal residency but was not permitted to vote.
Both cases trace back to a broader review that began in 2025, after Texas gained access to the federal SAVE database and cross-checked it against the statewide voter file. That review initially flagged 33 potential noncitizen voters from the 2024 General Election alone, which the Texas secretary of state’s office referred to the attorney general for investigation.
The review has since expanded, with state officials identifying well over 100 additional suspected noncitizen registrations for further scrutiny.
