Four Bradford residents are facing charges for allegedly forging at least 41 names on election nomination petitions in the race for Bradford mayor.

Criminal complaints were filed Monday against former candidate Slim Lewis, 43, and his wife, Lena Lewis, 26, both of 16 Mill St., and Josef Godfrey, 29, and Nikki Elliott, 24, both of 4 Harris Court.

“Election fraud is an extremely serious offense,” said Dinah Gallegos, county director of elections, on Monday. “When our office receives a written complaint we forward the information to the district attorney’s office and they determine what action needs to be taken.”

In March, District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer confirmed her office had been made aware of the allegations, and that county detectives would investigate.

Lewis had been seeking the Democratic nomination in the May primary before he withdrew his name from contention in mid-March after Republican mayoral candidate Tom Riel raised concerns about the authenticity of all of the signatures on his petitions.

Lewis had two petitions, one with 55 signatures and the other with 56. One had a notarized seal that it had been circulated by Lewis, and the other by his roommate, Josef Godfrey.

Riel and another elected official asked to see the petitions at the courthouse, and noticed one person’s name was spelled wrong. They started to look closer, and realized another person had moved away several years before.

Troubled by what he found, Riel contacted several people to see if they had signed Lewis’ petition. Many told him they had not.

He turned over his findings to the McKean County District Attorney’s office in March. County Detective Linda Close began investigating.

According to the criminal complaints in the case, all filed at District Judge Rich Luther’s office, Close contacted numerous people on Lewis’ petitions herself to verify if they were legitimate. “I was informed by those I spoke with the signatures were not theirs and they had been forged,” Close wrote in the complaint.

She interviewed Lewis, Lena Lewis, Godfrey and Elliott, “at which time it was learned each of (them) had in fact forged several names on the nomination petitions that were circulated by Lewis and Godfrey.”

Slim Lewis forged at least 17 names; Godfrey at least 10; Lena Lewis, at least 7; and Elliott at least 9, the complaints alleged.

On Monday, Shaffer announced that the Lewises, Godfrey and Elliott were being charged in the matter.

Slim Lewis was charged with 34 total counts of first-degree misdemeanor forgery, 17 counts each under two separate subsections of the law relating to unlawfully signing someone else’s name and then swearing that it is authentic; one count of tampering with public records, a first-degree misdemeanor; and two counts of unsworn falsification to authorities, second-degree misdemeanor; and one count of misdemeanor violation of the elections law for false signatures on nomination petitions.

Godfrey is charged with 20 total counts of first-degree misdemeanor forgery, 10 counts each under the same two subsections as Lewis’ charges; one count of tampering with records of identification, a first-degree misdemeanor; and two counts of unsworn falsification, second-degree misdemeanors; and one misdemeanor violation of the elections law for false signatures.

Lena Lewis was charged with 14 total counts of forgery, first-degree misdemeanors; one count of tampering with records of identification, a first-degree misdemeanor; and one misdemeanor count of violating the elections law for false signatures.

Elliott was charged with 18 total counts of forgery, first-degree misdemeanors; one count of tampering with records of identification, a first-degree misdemeanor; and one misdemeanor violation of the elections law for false signatures.

Arraignments have been scheduled for all four defendants before Magisterial District Judge Richard Luther on May 17.

These charges are not the first time Slim Lewis has had run-ins with the law. Had Lewis been successful in his run for mayor, he would have been barred from holding office, as he is a convicted felon. Under Pennsylvania law, a convicted felon can run for office, but cannot hold office.

According to public online court dockets, in 2002, Lewis pleaded guilty to theft, a second-degree misdemeanor, and criminal trespass, a second-degree felony, in one criminal case; to burglary, a second-degree felony, and criminal mischief, a summary offense, in a second case; and to two first-degree misdemeanor counts of bad checks in a third case.

In 2004, he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by deception, a third-degree misdemeanor.

And in 2014, he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct, a third-degree misdemeanor.