Thread: Former Plainfield mayoral candidate Henrilynn Ibezim. (Photo: Dr. Henrilynn Ibezim).

Former Plainfield mayoral candidate Henrilynn Ibezim. (Photo: Dr. Henrilynn Ibezim).

Ex-Plainfield mayoral candidate admits voter fraud scheme

OPIA plea deal includes dropping 4 of 5 counts and seeking probation
By David Wildstein, April 30 2026 12:35 pm

A former Plainfield mayoral candidate pleaded guilty this week to voter fraud, admitting he directed campaign workers to submit hundreds of fraudulent voter registration applications and personally delivered a large garbage bag containing nearly 1,000 forms to a Union County post office.
Dr. Henrilynn Ibezim was charged in October 2023 with election fraud, criminal attempt to commit false registration or transfer, tampering with public records, falsifying public records, forgery, and hindering apprehension or prosecution. Under a plea deal with state prosecutors, the state agreed to dismiss four of the five counts against him and is recommending probation rather than jail.
Ibezim was challenging Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp in the 2021 Democratic primary. He finished fourth with just 103 votes.
Prosecutors claim Ibezim showed up at the Elizabeth Post Office with voter registration forms that had the same handwriting. They claimed Ibezim fabricated voter registration applications using individuals’ personal information without their consent and attempted to submit them as legitimate. Many of the forms appeared to be completed by just a handful of writers and failed to disclose, as required by law, that someone other than the named voter had filled them out.
“My office is determined to ensure elections are fair and that their outcomes are determined by the will of the voters,” said Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. “It is crucial to our system of government that those who engage in illegal and bad faith conduct during elections be held accountable. Failing to do so opens the door to a loss of public confidence in the democratic process.”
Superior Court Judge Candido Rodriguez, Jr. will sentence Ibezim on June 18.
The plea deal follows another tough blow to the embattled Office of Public Integrity and Accountability after a judge dismissed a voter fraud indictment against Paterson Councilman and mayoral candidate Alex Mendez nearly six years after he was charged.
Despite the bravado in its announcement of charges, it took the OPIA two and a half years to deliver what appears considerably less than its initial bravado.

Ex-Plainfield mayoral candidate admits voter fraud scheme - New Jersey Globe

Ex-Plainfield Mayoral Candidate Pleads Guilty to Forgery in Voter Fraud Scheme

May 2, 2026 by Shore News Network

Plainfield, NJ — A former candidate for mayor in Plainfield admitted to submitting fraudulent voter registration applications tied to a local election, pleading guilty to forgery in a case that investigators say involved hundreds of falsified forms. Henrilynn Ibezim, 71, entered the plea Monday in Union County Superior Court, acknowledging his role in attempting to influence the June 2021 Democratic primary.
Under a plea agreement, Ibezim admitted to one count of third-degree forgery, while prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining charges.
Scheme involved bulk submission of false applications

According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Ibezim attempted to submit approximately 1,000 fraudulent voter registration applications by bringing them in a garbage bag to a post office in Elizabeth.
Investigators say the applications contained personal identifying information of individuals without their knowledge or consent. Many forms appeared to be completed by only a handful of writers, raising immediate red flags.
Authorities also noted the applications failed to disclose that they had been filled out by someone other than the listed voter, a required declaration under election law.


Prosecutors emphasize election integrity

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the case highlights the importance of protecting the integrity of elections.
“It is crucial to our system of government that those who engage in illegal and bad faith conduct during elections be held accountable,” Davenport said. “Failing to do so opens the door to a loss of public confidence in the democratic process.”

Ex-Plainfield Mayoral Candidate Pleads Guilty to Forgery in Voter Fraud Scheme

Former NJ mayoral candidate pleads to faking 1,000 voter registrations in 2021

New Jersey officials said Thursday that former Plainfield, NJ, mayoral candidate Henrilynn Ibezim has plead to charges after he was charged with creating false voter registration applications during the 2021 Democratic primary elections.

By Hayden Mitman • Published April 30, 2026 • Updated on May 1, 2026 at 5:14 am


Getty Images(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A former candidate for mayor of Plainfield, New Jersey, has plead guilty to charges involved after he attempted to file numerous fraudulent voter registrations in connection with his run for office in June of 2021.
According to New Jersey officials, Henrilynn Ibezim, 71, of Plainfield, pleaded -- on April 27, 2026 -- to a five count indictment against him that charged him with forgery.
Officials said the charges against Ibezim came after he brought a garbage bag containing approximately 1,000 falsified voter registration applications to an Elizabeth, New Jersey post office, intending to mail the documents to the Union County Commissioner of Registration.
With this plea, Ibezim admitted that, during the Democratic primary for mayor in June 2021, he created and attempted to submit the false voter registration applications, officials said, that contained the personal identifying information of individuals without their authorization.
Many of the applications had the handwriting of only three or four writers and, officials said, the applications did not state, as required, that they were completed by anyone other than the voter for whom the application was purportedly submitted.
“My office is determined to ensure elections are fair and that their outcomes are determined by the will of the voters,” said Jennifer Davenport, the Attorney General of New Jersey. “It is crucial to our system of government that those who engage in illegal and bad faith conduct during elections be held accountable. Failing to do so opens the door to a loss of public confidence in the democratic process.”
In a statement, officials said that prosecutors will recommend that Ibezim be sentenced to a term of probation to be set by the court at sentencing, which is scheduled for June 18, 2026.

Former NJ mayoral candidate pleads to faking voter registations – NBC10 Philadelphia

Former Dem mayoral candidate admits forging voter registration applications

Henrilynn Ibezim's original eight charges, including election fraud, were dropped as part of a plea agreement

By Robert McGreevy Fox News
Published May 1, 2026 1:59pm EDT

Voter registration activist lays out plan to flip New Jersey red

Scott Presler touts the GOP's 2024 'slam dunk' and explains how the party plans to take on 'deep blue' New Jersey.

Henrilynn Ibezim, a former Democratic mayoral candidate in New Jersey, pleaded guilty to forging nearly 1,000 voter registration applications during the 2021 Democratic primary, New Jersey's Office of the Attorney General announced Thursday.
During the 2021 Democratic primary for Plainfield, New Jersey's mayoral seat, Ibezim allegedly brought a garbage bag filled with around 1,000 falsified voter registration applications to a post office in Elizabeth, New Jersey, with the intention of mailing them to Union County's registration commissioner.
Of the 1,000 applications, most were completed with the handwriting of only three or four people, according to the attorney general. None of the slips were marked as completed by somebody other than the voter whom they were supposed to represent.

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Ibezim also attempted to coach a witness who helped him fill out the applications on how to respond to law enforcement questions, telling the witness not to "admit anything," the attorney general's office previously said.
Despite his efforts, Ibezim, who was running on the Unity Party ticket, received only 103 votes in the primary and lost to Plainfield's current mayor, Adrian O. Mapp.



A campaign poster for Henrilynn Ibezim's 2021 mayoral campaign posted to his Facebook profile Sept. 14, 2021. (Dr. Henrilynn Ibezim)

Ibezim pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree forgery Monday as part of a plea agreement with the attorney general's office. He had originally been charged with eight counts of various criminal offenses, including election fraud and witness tampering, but those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.



The Union County courthouse in Elizabeth, N.J., where former Democratic mayoral candidate Henrilynn Ibezim pleaded guilty to forgery on April 27, 2026. (Google Maps)

Prosecutors will recommend that Ibezim serve probation as punishment, according to the statement. He is due for sentencing in June.
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"My office is determined to ensure elections are fair and that their outcomes are determined by the will of the voters,"Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement.



New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, who announced forgery charges against former Democratic Mayoral candidate Henrilynn Ibezim April 30, 2026. (New Jersey's Office of the Attorney General)

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"It is crucial to our system of government that those who engage in illegal and bad-faith conduct during elections be held accountable. Failing to do so opens the door to a loss of public confidence in the democratic process," she concluded.

NJ mayoral candidate pleads guilty to forging 1,000 voter registrations | Fox News


NJ mayoral candidate pleads guilty to forging 1,000 voter registrations | Fox News