An Agua Dulce man featured in a 2017 Signal feature after his family’s home was deluged by a river of mud was the latest suspect identified in a wide-sweeping federal dragnet targeting voter fraud.
Chad Goertz, 52, was identified as “a Canadian citizen living in Agua Dulce,” as one of six charged in criminal complaints announced Monday.
A criminal complaint filed Friday indicates the investigation into Goertz began in August, after the Los Angeles office of the Homeland Security Investigations agency received information from the Identity and Benefit Fraud Unit about possible voter fraud.
Special agents reported that Goertz, who has lived at a film-ranch property on Soledad Canyon Road with his family since approximately 2007, has been living in the country as a lawful permanent resident, which is not the same as a U.S. citizen.
Investigators reported they had a copy of a voter-registration confirmation that was mailed out to him. “A check mark is provided next to the application wording ‘I am a U.S. citizen,’” according to the complaint. The initial application date was reported as April 2018.
The voter records also show that Goertz had voted in the 2022 and 2024 general elections in Los Angeles County, per the federal government.
Federal records cited in the complaint also note that Goertz had been seeking naturalization as a citizen, and had filed an N-400 application, which is the form for lawful permanent residency, colloquially known as a “green card.”
In those forms, which Goertz filled out in February, according to the complaint, he marked that he had never claimed to be a citizen and that he had never registered to vote, the complaint states.
The federal complaint also states that Goertz submitted a voter registration cancellation request on Sept. 4, 2025, and the reason stated was “non-citizen.”
The special agent wrote in his complaint that it was proof Goertz was aware of the illegality of his actions.
“This attempt to cancel his registration shows the defendant knew he had registered to vote and that he was not a United States citizen eligible to register or vote,” the complaint states.
Goertz was one of six targets announced Monday, following dozens of similar cases filed as a result of Operation Protect the Vote, according to a statement by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
“Today, my office announces criminal charges against six additional noncitizens for unlawfully registering and voting in our elections,” he wrote Monday. “We have now charged 34 defendants in Operation Protect the Vote, and every one of their names was on the list we provided to California officials. There are thousands of suspected noncitizens on California’s voter rolls, and we renew our request for California to expeditiously work with us to verify the citizenship of those casting ballots in elections.”
If convicted, each defendant could face a maximum sentence of up to five years in federal prison.
Goertz’s family was featured in a 2017 Signal story, after the family home managed to escape damage from the previous year’s Sand Fire, only to see a 30-foot-wide wall of water wreak havoc on their home and property. The community rallied to support the family.
