KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Cuban national from Kansas City has admitted to voting illegally and to helping prepare false income tax returns.
Federal prosecutors announced that 55-year-old Leonardo Lleras-Rodriguez, who previously lived in St. Joseph, entered the pleas Monday in separate federal indictments.
Lleras-Rodriguez admitted he voted illegally in six elections from 2010 through 2014. He also admitted that he prepared fraudulent federal income tax returns for several people.
Lleras-Rodriguez falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen when he registered to vote in Buchanan County in 2009. He could not vote because he had a felony conviction in Florida for distributing cocaine. After he was released from prison in 2003, he was to be deported. He was placed under federal immigration supervision until he could obtain a travel document from Cuba.
