A federal grand jury indicted Andover resident Yupeng Sun, 33, on two voter fraud charges Thursday, Sept. 3.
Sun, a Chinese national, allegedly used a former landlord's identity to register to vote and cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. The indictment escalates the case from a criminal complaint filed when Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested Sun on Aug. 19.
Sun faces one count of fraudulent voter registration and one count of fraudulent voting. Each charge carries up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and potential deportation.
The Andover Police Department and Lexington Police Department assisted HSI New England in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg is prosecuting the case.
How the scheme allegedly worked
Prosecutors allege Sun used the identity and Massachusetts driver's license number of his former Malden landlord to submit an online voter registration on Oct. 10, 2024. The landlord, identified in court documents only as J.L., is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident not eligible to vote, according to the criminal complaint reported by the Eagle-Tribune.
On Oct. 31, 2024, Sun allegedly went to Malden City Hall, identified himself as J.L., obtained an early presidential-election ballot and signed J.L.'s name on its envelope. Massachusetts voter records list the ballot as accepted for the Nov. 5 election.
During a recorded interview outside Sun's Andover home on July 23, HSI Special Agent Andrew DePatto said Sun acknowledged the registration and the vote. After seeing a photograph of the ballot envelope, Sun told investigators, "I used his name to vote," according to the complaint.
No attorney for Sun has been identified in court records available as of the indictment.
Beyond the ballot
The case extends beyond voting. Sun rented a room from J.L.'s family in Malden from 2021 until May 2023. The relationship soured after Sun was arrested in 2023 on assault-and-battery allegations involving J.L.'s adult daughter. Those charges were eventually dismissed.
In April 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services processed forms claiming J.L. and his wife, Y.L., had voluntarily abandoned their permanent resident status. When the couple returned from an overseas trip on June 3, 2024, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped them at Boston Logan International Airport. Officers confiscated their green cards and placed them in removal proceedings.
A certified forensic document examiner concluded neither J.L. nor Y.L. had signed the abandonment forms. At a Jan. 21 hearing, an immigration judge found their testimony credible and ordered their status restored. During the July 23 interview, Sun allegedly acknowledged signing J.L.'s name on one immigration form.
The criminal complaint charges Sun only with the two voting offenses. No separate charges related to the immigration documents have been announced.
HSI also received anonymous tips in April and May 2026 accusing J.L. of illegally voting. Sun admitted sending them during the July 23 interview, according to the complaint.
No arraignment date has been announced. Sun entered the United States in September 2020 on a B-2 tourist visa that expired in March 2021.
