Federal prosecutors allege Smartmatic, a U.K.-based voting technology company, overbilled Los Angeles County for 2020 election machines and funneled the surplus into a “slush fund” to bribe officials, according to a criminal case against co-founder Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez and two executives. The case, filed in Florida, details similar schemes in the Philippines and Venezuela, with extra charges of $10 to $50 per machine allegedly used for bribes.
L.A. County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan met regularly with Piñate, though he denies wrongdoing. Emails show Logan accepted gifts and coordinated company-paid trips, including to the Maldives and Taiwan. Smartmatic calls the DOJ allegations misrepresentations and says it ceased operations in Venezuela in 2017.
The $282 million L.A. contract was Smartmatic’s major U.S. entry, despite machine glitches that caused long lines in 2020. The county continued using the company for the 2024 election. Prosecutors plan to introduce records, communications, and witness testimony to show a broader pattern of corruption across multiple jurisdictions.
