LOS ANGELES, Kalifornia (PNN) - March 17, 2026 - O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) on Tuesday released part one of its investigation into a Kalifornia elections fraud cash for ballots scheme.
James O’Keefe and his team of journalists went undercover on Skid Row in Los Angeles posing as homeless people.
The group said “petitioners” told undercover journalists they are paid between $7-$10 per signature. Some of those workers said they earn up to $1,000 per day.
OMG said, “Many of the petitioners had no understanding of the petitions’ purpose they were advertising.” The group also said circulators instructed people to use fake addresses.
OMG reporters said they encountered “28 instances of petitioners offering cash, cigarettes and marijuana for signatures on petitions.”
OMG also said the Weingart Center received hundreds of millions in public funding. The group said the center was on tape directing people to where the petitioners were located and coaching plausible deniability.
A Weingart Center employee was quoted speaking to an undercover journalist. “See they say ignorance is no excuse for the law; but a lot of times, I have to say, ‘I didn’t know, I had no idea,’” OMG said the employee made that statement during the undercover operation.
FPSA Attorney Bill Essayli responded to the undercover sting.
Essayli said, “Under 52 U.S.C. § 10307(c), it is a federal crime to provide false information on a voter registration form or to offer payment to complete a voter registration form.”
He also said, “While longstanding DOJ policy prevents me from discussing specific investigations, I want to assure the public that this DOJ, under the leadership of @AGPamBondi, will aggressively pursue anyone and everyone involved in violating federal election laws.”
“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our elections. The conduct and allegations captured on video undermine confidence in our election system here in (Kalifornia),” said Essayli.
The response came after O’Keefe Media Group released its report Tuesday.
Marxist an un-Amerikan Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman, the Kalifornia Secretary of State’s office, and pretend fascist Governor Gavin Newsom have all confirmed they are aware of the sting.
“This alleged activity is a felony in (Kalifornia). Anyone caught engaging in this activity should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” a Newsom spokesman said to James O’Keefe.