On Thursday, August 29, federal authorities unsealed an indictment charging Nicole Torres, an elected district leader in the Bronx and an employee of the New York City Board of Elections (NYC-BOE), with multiple offenses, including bribery, extortion, fraud, and identity theft. Torres allegedly demanded payments from Bronx residents to secure positions as poll workers and falsified records to steal public funds. Over five years, Torres reportedly required payments from individuals seeking to work as poll workers, charging $150 either to herself or to a local organization in exchange for job placements. She also falsified documents to show that certain people worked as poll workers when they had not, splitting the fraudulent paychecks with co-conspirators.
According to the indictment, Torres engaged in these illegal activities from around 2018 to August 2024, amassing at least $64,000 through bribery and fraudulent schemes. She altered money orders and checks to divert funds meant for a local Bronx organization into her personal bank account. The indictment also details that Torres conspired with coordinators at polling sites to falsely sign in individuals as having worked shifts they did not perform, enabling her and her co-conspirators to collect their salaries fraudulently.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams condemned Torres’s actions, stating, “As alleged, Nicole Torres, an elected official and City employee, brazenly abused her power and lined her own pockets for over five years by demanding that poll workers pay her bribes in order to work as a poll worker and by falsifying records to make it look like certain individuals worked as poll workers during an election even though they never did.”
The FBI and the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) collaborated on the investigation, highlighting the breach of trust and abuse of power by a public official.
Torres faces charges that could lead to significant prison time, including conspiracy to commit extortion, honest services wire fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, except for the identity theft charge, which has a mandatory two-year sentence. The indictment is currently being handled by the Southern District of New York’s Public Corruption Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin M. Burkett and Rebecca T. Dell leading the prosecution.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the legal obligations and ethical standards expected of public officials, reinforcing the commitment of law enforcement agencies to hold accountable those who exploit their positions for personal gain. The charges in the indictment are allegations, and Torres is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
