Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Secretary of State Cole Jester announce three voter fraud arrests

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Secretary of State Cole Jester announced three arrests for voter fraud in a news conference on Thursday morning.

Griffin said the three were discovered through tips received when federal officials noticed incongruities in their voting records. The three ladies arrested, all non-citizens, are being charged for voting in either the primary or general election, or both.

The three charged are 59-year-old Cecilia Castellanos of Rogers, 50-year-old Zlata Risley of Hot Springs Village and 59-year-old Chi Baum of Texarkana. All are facing felony charges, Griffin said.

Castellanos was arrested and charged with perjury and violation of Arkansas election laws, Griffin said. Castellanos is a Cuban national who has a pending order of removal by an immigration judge from 1999, he added, explaining that she has three prior felony convictions in New York state and is currently being held by authorities.

Griffin said Castellanos’ perjury charge stems from her marking on a voter registration form that she was a citizen of the United States and that she did not have any prior felony convictions. He continued that the election law violation arises from her alleged illegal voting in the 2024 general election, despite not being a U.S. citizen.

Risley was arrested and charged with violation of Arkansas election laws, Griffin said. Risley, who is originally from Kazakhstan, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States but is not a U.S. citizen. She voted illegally in 2024 in the Republican preferential primary, he said.

Baum was arrested and charged with perjury and violation of Arkansas election laws, the attorney general said. Baum, who is originally from Nigeria, is a conditional permanent resident, but she is not a U.S. citizen, Griffin said. Her perjury charge stems from her marking on a voter registration form that she was a U.S. citizen. The election law violation arises from her illegally voting in the 2024 general election despite her not being a U.S. citizen, the attorney general said.

Griffin explained that each of the three will be tried in the county where the alleged illegal voting took place.

Griffin thanked his Special Investigations Division’s Election Integrity Unit, Jester, for his assistance, and the prosecutors for the 19th Judicial District West, Bryan Sexton, 18th Judicial District East, Michelle Lawrence, and 8th Judicial District South, Connie Mitchell.

“We can have confidence in our system here in the state,” Griffin said.