DV Journal

Perhaps to send a warning to other would-be voting fraud culprits, federal Judge Harvey Bartle III on Wednesday sentenced two former Millbourne Borough officials to stiff sentences for election fraud.

Nurul Hasan, 48, former vice president of Millbourne Borough Council, pleaded guilty in April to all 33 charges against him — one count of conspiracy, 16 counts of giving false information in registering to vote, and 16 counts of fraudulent voter registration. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $3,300 special assessment, according to U.S. Attorney David Metcalf.

Former borough Councilman Rafikul Islam, 52, pleaded guilty in April to all seven charges against him — one count of conspiracy, three counts of giving false information in registering to vote, and three counts of fraudulent voter registration. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, one year of supervised release, $1,000 fine, and a $700 special assessment.

A third defendant, Munsur Ali, 48, who was also a member of the borough council, pleaded guilty in April to all 25 charges against him — one count of conspiracy, 12 counts of giving false information in registering to vote, and 12 counts of fraudulent voter registration. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26.

“These defendants sabotaged the democratic will of their fellow citizens in deciding Millbourne’s next mayor,” said Metcalf. “Public trust in the electoral process is critical, and my office is committed to ensuring that our elections remain free and fair. As this case shows, should we find instances of fraud, we won’t hesitate to prosecute those responsible.”

The ballot-stuffing occurred during the 2021 election cycle. The borough residents voted for mayor and three council seats.

During the May primary election, Hasan was defeated in the primary by a vote count of approximately 138 to 120. In the same primary, Ali was one of three majority party candidates for borough council to advance to the general election, while Islam lost his bid for reelection to the council.

After the primary, Hasan decided to run as a write-in candidate for mayor in the November general election. Ali and Islam agreed to support him.

The three men used several methods to secure a victory for Hasan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

In a scheme detailed in court documents and that the defendants admitted to, they obtained personal identification information of non-Millbourne residents, such as their names, addresses, and dates of birth and used that information to access the state’s online voter registration website and change their addresses to Millbourne.

They then asked for mail-in or absentee ballots for those nonresidents to be sent to addresses where the defendants could retrieve them.

They then impersonated the voters and fraudulently cast write-in votes for defendant Hasan to be mayor, a process that included forging signatures of the impersonated voters. Finally, they submitted those fraudulent ballots to the Delaware County Board of Elections.

Hasan and Ali also conspired and agreed to use personal identifying information for other non-Millbourne residents, which the two defendants had obtained from other sources, such as Hasan’s business, to register those nonresidents as Millbourne voters without the knowledge of those non-residents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

As a cover for his actions, Hasan sometimes used email addresses belonging to other people with their consent. Islam was one of them. Islam allowed Hasan to use two of Islam’s email addresses when Hasan fraudulently changed the voter registration addresses for six individuals. Islam also permitted Hasan to use two of Islam’s email addresses when requesting mail-in ballots for five non-Millbourne residents.

The men conspired to fraudulently register about 36 non-Millbourne residents as Millbourne voters and to cast ballots for them in the 2021 election. Despite the skullduggery, Hasan lost by about 165 to 138, officials said.

“These crimes undermine faith in elections generally,” said James Allen, Delaware County director of elections. “For that reason, it was important for the court to make absolutely clear that such fraud will be detected, will be investigated and will be prosecuted, and persons who commit these crimes will be punished accordingly. The court did just that.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Dubnoff.

“Free and fair elections are the bedrock principle that defines American democracy. I appreciate the partnership between my office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring these criminals to justice,” said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

“The electoral process is a pillar of our democracy, so when public officials undermine this system through fraud, they don’t only break the law — they compromise the trust built between this process and the American people,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI remains unwavering in our commitment to protecting the integrity of elections and ensuring those who break these laws are held accountable.”

Mellbourne Borough officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The trial for Mark Houck, the Bucks County pro-life advocate charged with violating the FACE Act for an altercation with an abortion clinic escort, is set to begin at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia on Jan. 24.

The case has national implications as to whether an escort can be considered an abortion provider under the law. Houck, who was arrested by a small army of FBI agents and other law enforcement as his wife and frightened children watched, has become a cause celeb for the pro-life movement.

One of Houck’s lawyers, Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, said the government is pressing the wrong charges. And although Judge Gerard Pappert, a Republican who had formerly served as the state attorney general, denied a motion to dismiss, Breen was heartened by the judge’s remarks in that decision.

Mark and Ryan-Marie Houck and their children

“The judge recognized in his order that the altercation was about literature and that’s not a FACE violation,” said Breen.  (FACE is the “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances” Act.) Houck, who leads a Catholic men’s ministry, had gone back toward the clinic to retrieve some of the brochures he had been handing out that were in a trash can when he was confronted by the escort.

The escort, Bruce Love, was also “harassing” Houck’s then 12-year-old son.

“If two people have an argument over harassment of (one’s) son or positioning on the sidewalk, that sort of thing is clearly not a violation of the FACE Act,” said Breen.

The FACE Act or Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act does not include volunteer escorts, Breen said.

“We vigorously dispute the allegations,” said Breen. “It’s not a violation unless the person is somehow impacting the abortion process. And that’s not the case here, very clearly.”

During pretrial litigation, Houck’s team showed evidence that Congress did not intend to include volunteer escorts when the FACE Act was written. They quoted the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) who said, “Demonstrators, clinic defenders, escorts, and other persons not involved in obtaining or providing services in the facility may not bring such a cause of action (under FACE).”

City police and the district attorney previously declined to file charges against Houck. A private legal action filed by the pro-abortion activist was dismissed.

“What we’ve contended is the description in the indictment is 180 degrees from the real facts of the case,” said Breen. Houck did not approach the escort. Rather, “Love made a beeline to intercept and interfere with Mark,” said Breen.

The indictment states that on Oct. 31, 2021, at the Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center on Locust Street in Philadelphia, Houck “by force, intentionally injured, intimidated and interfered” with Bruce Love. And also, Houck “verbally confronted B.L. and forcefully shoved B.L. to the ground.”

“The government has no video, no pictures, no audio of (the incident),” Breen said.

Although the indictment claims there were two witnesses, the government has not told the defense who those people were.

Asked whether the Houck case is part of the Biden administration’s desire to promote abortion and clamp down on pro-life activity, Breen said, “Well, we are now up to almost 200 pro-life centers or churches vandalized or otherwise damaged. Instead of charging the people that did those things, you had over 20 pro-life activists charged under FACE. Our question to the administration is, when are you going to protect pro-life citizens because the charges under FACE so far have been against peaceful individuals?”

And, “the allegation against Mark is the first, as far as we know, the first and only prosecution of a pro-life sidewalk counselor for what he is alleged to do against an abortion escort.” So this is, to some extent, a test case for the Biden Department of Justice. We believe if they were to prevail, they would try to take this legal theory to other parts of the country.”

“That’s why it’s an extremely important case,” said Breen. “Folks across the country are watching it. There were no patients involved. No clinic staff.  As far as we know, that’s never been the subject of criminal prosecution by the government.”

Houck, 49, was released on his own recognizance the same day as his arrest at his Kintersville home.

“Think about that. Twenty-five FBI agents go to his home as if he were somehow a danger,” said Breen, who noted the lawyers had offered to bring him in “at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer.”

“It’s clear that intimidation is one of the tactics being used by the federal government,” said Breen. “And I can tell you that I received calls from sidewalk counselors that were intimidated. They’re wondering, ‘Am I going to be next?’”

Pro-life activists plan a rally to support Houck outside the courthouse at 601 Market Street at 11 a.m. on Jan. 24.  A previous rally attracted dozens of supporters.

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