Nearly a decade after authorities said Crystal Mason voted illegally in Tarrant County the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to acquit her of criminal wrongdoing.
Crystal Mason was charged with illegal voting after she cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 election. Mason, who was on supervised release for federal tax evasion at the time and thus ineligible to vote, has maintained that she did not know she was ineligible. Her ballot was never counted.
Mason was convicted of voter fraud in 2018 and sentenced to five years. She appealed twice to the Second Court of Criminal Appeals, the latter attempt being approved by the court and her conviction overturned in 2023.
While it looked for several months like that would be the end of the case, Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells announced in 2024 that his office was filing its own appeal,…
These frauds exploit emotional vulnerability and trust rather than technical weaknesses.
- Romance Scams: Scammers build long-term online relationships with victims, eventually fabricating a “crisis” (medical emergency, legal trouble, or travel costs) that requires the victim to send money.
- Pig Butchering: A hybrid scam where the criminal builds a romantic or platonic relationship to eventually “tutor” the victim in a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment.