Brent Thomas Kusama, a Cochise County man indicted in 2023 on election-fraud charges, is back in Arizona after authorities tracked him to Hawaii and returned him to face the case. A judge has set his bond at $10,000, allowed him to live with family in California while the case moves forward, and scheduled his arraignment for Monday.
According to Hawaii News Now, Honolulu police took Kusama into custody in early January after investigators followed a tip that he was using a Hawaii address. A multi-agency effort involving the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals then helped return him to Cochise County. Kusama waived an extradition hearing and made an initial court appearance on Jan. 28, where his release conditions were set.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said a state grand jury indicted Kusama in April 2023 on nine felony counts and two misdemeanors, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The indictment includes charges of fraudulent schemes and practices, presentment of a false instrument for filing, and violations related to signing nominating petitions as he sought to qualify to run for Constable in Precinct 5. Prosecutors say the grand jury alleged the conduct occurred between July 2021 and April 2022. He is due back in court Monday for his arraignment.
What the indictment alleges
Prosecutors allege Kusama used nomination petitions containing falsified signatures and personally completed the verification on the back of eight petition sheets on March 28, 2022, despite knowing the front pages contained false or forged information, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The grand jury returned the indictment in April 2023 and lists Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson as the prosecutor assigned to the case.
Penalties and next steps
Charges of the sort listed in the indictment carry meaningful criminal exposure. A Class 5 fraudulent-schemes count can bring roughly two and a half years in prison and significant fines, while other felony counts carry additional potential prison terms, reporting by AZPM notes.
His bond was set at $10,000, and the court ordered him to surrender an expired passport and barred him from obtaining a new one before arraignment, according to KOLD. Kusama is scheduled to be arraigned Monday before Cochise County Superior Court Judge Joel Larson.
Context
Petition-signature challenges are a routine part of the nominating process, and Cochise County officials previously rejected the bulk of Kusama’s submitted signatures during a review that left him far short of the number required to appear on the 2022 ballot. Arizona’s Attorney General has pursued several election-related prosecutions in recent years, including cases involving alleged forged nominating petitions and other high-profile matters, reporting by the Associated Press shows. The arraignment will set the next pretrial steps in Kusama’s case.
As with any criminal proceeding, Kusama is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court. The courthouse is expected to provide the next public update after Monday’s arraignment.
