Sydney businessman Salim Mehajer has been sentenced to a minimum of 11 months in jail for his role in an electoral fraud plot. The 32-year-old was found guilty of 77 charges related to a joint criminal enterprise with his sister, Fatima Mehajer, to influence the 2012 Auburn City Council election.
Magistrate Beverley Schurr handed down the sentence at the Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, ordering Mehajer to serve 21 months in prison with a non-parole period of 11 months. Upon release, he will be subject to a good behaviour bond. Fatima Mehajer received a two-month suspended jail term and a $500 nine-month good behaviour bond.
The court heard that the pair conspired to add ineligible voters to the electoral roll for the Auburn council electorate. Schurr described the offending as “towards the top of the scale of criminality for this kind of offence”, noting that text message exchanges between the siblings provided direct evidence of their planning and intention.
The fraudulent applications were submitted from two computers: one registered to a Mehajer family company, and the other to the family residence. Vigilant staff at the Australian Electoral Commission halted the processing of applications when they became suspicious, but 18 ineligible names had already been added to the roll. Votes were subsequently cast in the names of all 18 individuals in the 2012 election.
