Former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has expressed gratitude for a second chance after being given a short jail sentence for setting up a fake car crash and providing false details to manipulate traffic fines.
The 38-year-old was again before Sydney‘s Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a slew of charges relating to crimes spanning back over more than 10 years.
Mehajer staged a car accident between his leased Mercedes Benz and an associate’s Mitshibishi Outlander in Lidcombe in October 2017 on the day he was to have a hearing in the Local Court.
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He had been accused of assaulting a taxi driver at The Star casino.
That hearing was postponed to January 2018 after the businessman was found in his damaged vehicle, claiming he could not move due to neck and back injuries.
Medical staff found Mehajer showed no signs of significant pain while police investigators found claims his car had been t-boned by the Mitshibishi as it went through a stop sign did not add up.
His accomplices in the incident expected to be paid for their roles, with some previously chasing the former deputy mayor for money, Judge Warwick Hunt said during sentencing on Tuesday.
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There was also a financial incentive for Mehajer with a certificate of insurance worth $156,780 taken out on the vehicle, the judge found.
From November 2012 to March 2014, the businessman submitted fraudulent documents to the NSW Office of State Revenue aimed at helping himself and others receive lower fines or avoid demerit points for traffic infringements.
The details of a male with no connection to Mehajer or his associates were used on seven separate statutory declarations for penalty notices sent for speeding and going through red lights.
In some cases the fines were close to $2000.
Mehajer himself was only behind the wheel on one of these occasions after being pulled over by police while driving from Sydney to Canberra.
Judge Hunt sentenced him to a total of 24 months backdated to August 15 last year to take into account time already served in custody.
His 18-month non-parole period will expire on December 14.
The judge found Mehajer would face difficulties in custody after showing symptoms of bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder.
He found the intelligent and resourceful businessman could lead a successful life if he used his abilities for good rather than ill.
“I’m extremely grateful for giving me a second chance,” Mehajer said from a cell in John Moroney minimum-security prison.
He will not be released in December unless he successfully appeals his convictions and seven-year-and-nine-month sentence imposed by Judge James Bennett in May for the assault, intimidation and choking of a woman, and the creation of fraudulent documents.
On different occasions, he punched the woman in the head 10 times in his car, squeezed her hand so hard it cracked her phone screen, and covered her mouth and nose to stop her breathing until she passed out.
Mehajer forged the signatures of his then lawyer Zali Burrows and sister Zenha Osman, attempting to replace a court-appointed bankruptcy administrator and to seize back $6530 in cash taken by police from his Kirribilli home.
In April 2021, he was thrown behind bars for trying to secure bail conditions under false pretences to further his business interests.
Judge Peter Zahra jailed him for three years and six months, expiring on April 18, 2024, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.
The former deputy mayor of the since-merged Auburn council in Sydney’s west rose to notoriety when his lavish wedding celebrations shut down a street in 2015.
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