News

How an alleged prankster falsely registered Drake, 50 Cent, other celebs to vote in same Texas home

Several A-list rappers including Drake and 50 Cent became victims of identity theft when they were wrongfully registered to vote using the same address in Texas in what state officials say is an obvious prank.

Details of the artists including Drake, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and The Game were all entered into forms using the same home address in Katy, a city west of Houston. Despite this, residents of the neighborhood where they were registered stated they had not seen any of the celebrities in the community.

Records from the Harris County Tax Assessor’s Office indicate that the men were registered to vote on August 15, a day when Drake was performing in California, approximately 1,500 miles away, as reported by the New York Post.

The same person completed all registration applications for the celebrities, yet none voted in last year’s elections, indicating no occurrence of voter fraud.

“These people are either committing high misdemeanors or felonies,” said Randall Erben, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, referring to whoever registered the celebrities to vote. “This is not fooling around.”

State law permits only a spouse, parent, or child acting as an agent to complete voter registration forms on behalf of someone else, implying that the same individual could not have legally submitted forms for all five celebrities.

Federal law permits people to register to vote in Texas without a driver’s license number, ID, or Social Security number if they provide full legal names and birth dates, information easily accessible online for celebrities.

The prankster who used the details of the five artists checked a box indicating they lacked a supplementary form of ID on each registration.

Providing a false or forged voter application form is considered a third-degree felony while acting as someone else’s agent is a Class A misdemeanor. Class A misdemeanors can result in up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The individual who completed the applications signed the papers, which read: “I understand that giving false information to procure a voter registration is perjury and a crime under state and federal law. Conviction of this crime may result in imprisonment up to one year in jail, a fine up to $4,000, or both.”

Underscoring the gravity of voting rights, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said such issues should never be trivialized as a mere prank.

“Drake and 50 Cent did not do these voter registrations, and whoever did commit a crime,” he said.

Stephen Nartey

Recent Posts

Mom narrates how she survived crash that caused her truck to hang over the Ohio River for almost an hour

Sydney Thomas believed she was nearing the end of her life as she was suspended…

12 mins ago

Washington man charged with fatally shooting 8-month-old son blames demons, authorities say

Authorities in Seattle have brought charges against a 35-year-old man who allegedly shot his 8-month-old…

1 hour ago

Adele talks about having second baby with Rich Paul

During her Friday show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, award-winning singer Adele expressed her…

2 hours ago

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks on rescinding Diddy’s key to the city

Embattled music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs continues to remain under scrutiny after CNN recently shared…

2 hours ago

18-year-old Ugandan student gets acceptance letters from 120 U.S. colleges

An 18-year-old Ugandan student who bagged a 3.94 grade point average is one of the…

17 hours ago

70-year-old charged with hate crime after allegedly shooting a white mom with Black sons

John P. Shadbar, an Illinois resident, has been arrested and charged with a hate crime…

18 hours ago

NY mom whose 14-year-old died after medical emergency on American Airlines flight blames crew, says defibrillator was faulty

A New York City mother, Melissa Arzu, has dragged American Airlines to court after her…

18 hours ago

This entrepreneur is reportedly behind the 1st Black-owned voice messaging app with large group video chat ability

Ernest Manning Jr is reportedly behind the first black-owned voice messaging app with a large…

18 hours ago

How this father-son team built a multi-million-dollar design firm with clients like Ford, Obama Foundation, others

Meet father-son duo John and Joshua Johnson; they are behind a multi-million-dollar furniture and interior…

21 hours ago

The ‘Drake curse’ is back as rapper misses bagging $1M after betting on Tyson Fury to defeat Usyk

Drake suffered a major gambling loss on Saturday night after betting $565,000 on Tyson Fury…

21 hours ago

Why Sanders rejected a $750k check from British Knights and signed with Nike, which offered less

Deion Sanders recently revealed why he rejected a shoe brand deal from the British Knights…

1 day ago

Celebrated artist Kehinde Wiley accused of sexual assault by Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko

Renowned Nigerian-American artist Kehinde Wiley has refuted allegations of sexual assault brought against him by…

1 day ago

17-year-old Michigan student gains admission into four Ivy League schools

Kelli Higgins was offered admission to many esteemed universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Yale…

1 day ago

Sex offender who allegedly faked his own death to avoid registering arrested

Authorities in Arizona announced the arrest of a convicted sex offender who allegedly faked his…

1 day ago

Diddy issues apology following footage of him assaulting Cassie, her lawyer responds

Embattled music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs took to social media on Sunday to issue an…

1 day ago