New charge for Emperor of India owner: voter fraud

The Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a felony voter fraud charge against Praveen Khurana, the former Lewiston restaurateur already facing a slew of charges in two other matters.

According to a probable cause affidavit unsealed this week by the Nez Perce County District Court, the prosecutor’s office alleges that Khurana, 60, went to the county’s Brammer Building on Oct. 6 to vote early.

He told a poll worker that his address was 848 Main St., the address of his burned-out and condemned Emperor of India King Thai restaurant. But upon scanning his picture identification, the poll worker found his registered address to be 732 Preston Ave.

Khurana told the poll worker that he received mail at the Main Street address, and she subsequently told him he needed to register there if that was where he actually resided. Khurana began to fill out a new voter registration card, but stopped after only filling out his first and last name, according to the affidavit. He then stated that he lived at the Preston Avenue address and proceeded to sign an electronic record and poll book that listed that address.

But as of August 2019, the Preston Avenue property was deeded to a different person. Khurana had been evicted from that address in late 2018 and subsequently hit with a felony charge of malicious injury to property after he allegedly tore out numerous fixtures from the home, causing more than $18,000 in damages. Khurana has pleaded innocent to that charge, and a jury trial is set for June.

Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Khurana declined to comment on the new charge. Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman did not respond to calls and messages requesting comment.

If convicted of the single charge of knowingly signing a poll book while not living in the registered precinct, Khurana faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $1,000 fine. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before Nez Perce County Magistrate Judge Karin Seubert this afternoon.

Khurana has also been on the mind of the Lewiston City Council this week. Councilors have been weighing their options for how to remediate the 848 Main St. property, which has marred downtown Lewiston since a December 2019 fire caused its partial collapse. City officials filed 22 misdemeanor zoning violations against Khurana last year for his alleged failure to clean up the mess.

He has also pleaded innocent to those charges, and a pretrial hearing is set for March 2. City councilors were set to discuss their options at Monday’s regular meeting, but Assistant City Attorney Kayla Hermann asked them to hold off until the city learns whether Khurana’s insurance company will pay for damages from the fire.

Hermann said Khurana was scheduled to speak with his insurance agent Tuesday about the claim. An Idaho State Fire Marshal’s investigation found the cause of the fire to be undetermined earlier this month, a factor that should help the insurance company make a determination regarding the claim.

If Khurana does not remediate the property on his own, the city could place a lien on it. If unpaid, the city could take possession and sell the property at auction and use the funds to reimburse any cleanup costs it incurs.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.