FRIDAY, October 30, 2026|
Photo – A voting booth at Carbon County Courthouse – Bigfoot99 file photo
An Uzbekistani citizen living in Rawlins has pleaded guilty to illegally voting in the 2024 election.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Wyoming announced that 29-year-old Maksim Sergeevich Shakirov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of voting by an alien in violation of Title 18, Section 611 of the United States Code, which prohibits non-U.S. citizens from voting in federal elections.
On May 21st of this year, a grand jury indicted Shakirov on allegations that he falsely and willfully represented himself as a United States citizen to an election judge during the November 5th, 2024, election, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The charge of false impersonation of a U.S. citizen carried a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and one year of supervised release. Citing a serious risk of flight and obstruction of justice, Assistant United States Attorney Lance Johnson asked that Shakirov remain in custody while the criminal case proceeded, and on June 1st, United States Magistrate Judge R. Michael Shickich granted the request.
After posting a $10,000 bond, Shakirov was released on June 3rd into the custody of his mother and stepfather and ordered to complete a treatment program at a Rock Springs mental health facility. Upon completion of the program, he was allowed to return to his Rawlins home.
Following a series of court filings, a jury trial was scheduled for November 2nd. Before his trial could begin, however, prosecutors dropped the False Impersonation of a Citizen charge, and Shakirov pleaded guilty to Voting by Alien, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.
U.S. Attorney Darin Smith is quoted as saying, “Anyone who votes illegally in Wyoming will be found out and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations.
Shakirov is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14th, 2027.
