Five plead not guilty to Lake County voter fraud allegations

Five Lake County residents pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges related to alleged voter fraud stemming from the November 2016 election.

Marcello Villaruz, 63, his wife, Gina Villaruz, 51, both of Beach Park, and Yvette Yust, 56, of Waukegan, each pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of perjury for misrepresenting their citizenship when voting in the election. All three pleaded not guilty in front of different judges and have different trial dates.

Marvin Hershman, 89, of Riverwoods, and Janet Pokryfke, 69, of Mundelein, also pleaded not guilty to charges of voting more than once and one count of perjury. Hershman is accused of voting once in Lake County, and again in Cook County, while Pokryfke is accused of voting twice in Lake County.

All five face sentences of up to five years in prison if found guilty. The charges are also probationable.

All five of the people are free from Lake County jail after posting $25,000 signature bonds.