A former New York City Board of Elections employee and Bronx district leader, Nicole Torres, has been sentenced to two years in prison for her involvement in two schemes that corrupted the city’s election process. Torres had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and mail fraud.
Extortion and Fraud: A Betrayal of Public Trust
From 2016 to 2024, Nicole Torres used her position at the NYC-BOE to exploit her power, engaging in two different illegal schemes. Torres was responsible for ensuring poll workers were paid for their work, a role she abused for personal gain.
First, from 2019 to 2024, Torres extorted Bronx residents, demanding payments in exchange for selecting them as poll workers. The payments, usually $150, were made to either Torres directly or to a local organization. Torres personally pocketed at least $28,000 from this scheme, even altering the payee on checks and money orders to deposit the funds into her personal account.
The second scheme involved falsifying official records. From 2018 to 2024, Torres worked with coconspirators to sign in "no-show" poll workers on official forms. This made it appear as though certain individuals had worked during early voting and on Election Day when they hadn't. Torres and her co-conspirators then collected and split the fraudulently obtained salaries for these fake workers.
In total, Torres personally profited by at least $40,970 from these two schemes.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Torres “abused her power to corrupt one of New York City’s most fundamental democratic processes.” By "shaking down Bronx residents and falsifying election records," she undermined the public's trust in the election system. This sentence holds her accountable for betraying the city and its people.
This case serves as a powerful reminder that public officials who compromise the integrity of our democratic process will face serious consequences.
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