Developers Face Charges in Bloomingburg Voter Fraud Scheme

The ink is not yet dry on the 2016 elections, but three local developers were recently indicted for their roles in an attempted voter fraud scheme in Bloominburg in 2014.

Shalom Lamm, 57, of Bloominburg; Kenneth Nakdimen, 64, of Monsey; and Volvy Smolowitz, also known as Zev Smolowitz, 28, of Monroe were indicted on charges of conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process. The indictment was announced by Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It was also announced that Harold Baird, 60, of Sullivan County and the former Town Supervisor of Mamakating pleaded guilty to conspiracy to submit false voter registrations.

"In pursuit of millions of dollars in profits from a real estate development project, the defendants allegedly hatched a cynical ploy to corrupt the electoral process in Boominburg," Bharara said. "As alleged, to get public officials supportive of their development project elected to local government, the defendants concocted a scheme to falsely register voters who did not live in Bloominburg, including some who had never even set foot there."

According to the indictment, Lamm, Nakdimen, and Smolowitz had started looking to develop real estate projects in Bloominburg around 2006. By 2013 some of the proposed projects "had met local opposition, and still remained under construction and uninhabitable."

At that point, "the defendants instead decided to corrupt the democratic electoral process in Bloominburg by falsely registering voters and paying bribes for voters who would help elect public officials favorable to their project."

As part of the scheme, the indictment alleges the defendants drew up back-dated false leases, and placed toothbrushes and toothpaste in the empty apartments to make it look like the people registered lived there.

The defendants are also alleged to have "bribed potential voters by offering payments, subsidies, and other items of value to get non-residents of Bloominburg to unlawfully register and vote there."

Lamm is alleged to have offered an individual $500 for newly registered voters, and the indictment claims Lamm and Nakmimen's real estate company paid the person more than $30,000 per month.

For his part, Baird is alleged to have conspired to submit false voter registrations between January and March of 2014 with the goal of running for office in Bloominburg despite not living there.

The U.S. Attorney said of the scheme, "Profit-driven corruption of democracy cannot be allowed to stand no matter who does it or where it happens."

Sweeney said, "Today's charges allege the defendants corruptly advanced their own personal real estate projects in Bloominburg, New York, at the expense of honest citizens who expect and deserve a fair election system."

He added, "In their scheme to promote their own real estate development projects, the defendants violated federal law as they schemed to put themselves first. This type of behavior simply won't be tolerated."

Lamm, Nakdimen, and Smolowitz were all charged with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, in particular to corrupt the electoral process by submitting false voter registrations, buying voter registrations, and offering bribes for voter registrations and votes. They face a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Baird pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to submit false voter registrations, and faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and a $250,000. He is scheduled to b sentenced at a later date with the case assigned to United States District Judge Cathy Seibel.

Bharara credited several agencies for their help in the case including the FBI- Hudson Valley White Collar Crime Task Force, the Sullivan County District Attorney's Office, the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Orange County District Attorney's Office, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, as well as the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section, Election Crimes Branch.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kathryn Martin, Benjamin Allee, and Perry Carbone are will handle the prosecution of the case which is being handled by the White Plains Division of the US Attorney's office.