Federal agents arrested a Wilmington man on a federal warrant Monday after investigators said he slipped into multiple North Carolina elections while not legally allowed to vote. Prosecutors say the case centers on a criminal complaint accusing the defendant of lying on voter-registration forms and ballots while he was serving a federal sentence of supervised release.
What the complaint alleges
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI agents took 36-year-old James Osborne of Wilmington into custody on a federal warrant charging him with making false statements on voter registration or ballots while he was on supervised release for a prior conviction for possession of child pornography. The complaint says Osborne, who is required to register as a sex offender, submitted a voter-registration form and then voted in person in the Nov. 5, 2024 presidential election and again in the Feb. 25, 2026 primary. It also notes a voter-registration entry in November 2025. Prosecutors say he is charged under federal voting laws that carry potential penalties of up to five years in prison per violation. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
FBI message and the Facebook notice
Reid Davis, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina, said the case "serves as a warning" and highlights the bureau’s focus on election security. The FBI’s Charlotte office shared the arrest announcement on its Facebook page, pointing followers to the criminal complaint and summarizing the allegations and the agency’s stance on protecting the ballot box. Those agency statements are available through FBI – Charlotte on Facebook.
Local context and politics
Local reporting says Osborne admitted to casting a ballot in this month’s primary, the same race in which his roommate, Rick Southerland, ran for a seat on the New Hanover County Board of Education. That coverage also reports that Osborne remains under supervised release for his earlier federal conviction until January 2039. WWAY
Legal implications and next steps
Prosecutors say Osborne is charged under provisions of the National Voter Registration Act that make it a crime to knowingly submit materially false voter-registration applications or ballots in elections for federal office. A conviction under that section, 52 U.S.C. §20511, can bring fines and up to five years in prison. The government also notes that a criminal complaint is only an allegation and that Osborne, like any defendant, is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Details of the statute are laid out in 52 U.S.C. §20511, and general explanations of criminal complaints are available through legal references such as FindLaw.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Petracca is handling the prosecution, and the FBI says its investigation is still active. Related court filings, including the complaint, can be accessed through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
