Salim Mehajer (born 12 June 1986)[1] is an Australian convicted criminal, property developer and former deputy mayor of Auburn City Council.
Mehajer finished his final years at Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta and subsequently studied at Western Sydney University, graduating with a Bachelor of Housing degree[1] in April 2010.
[10] Mehajer's parents, Mohamad and Amal, have come to the attention of Australian authorities in relation to unpaid taxes worth almost $10 million.
[14][15] The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered Mehajer to be suspended for four months for his failure to disclose financial interests.
That would [be] my dream come true" and denied claims that he was part of a group of six councillors who were accused of banding together to push through development applications.
[19] A month after the interview, Mehajer claimed to have lost interest in politics altogether and now intended to pursue the study of medicine and to qualify as a medical doctor specializing in mental health.
[20] The NSW Government later suspended the entire Auburn City Council in February 2016 and appointed an administrator while a public inquiry examined the allegations of councillors misusing their positions.
A later public enquiry, held in November 2016, found no adverse findings against Mehajer or Sydney's Auburn City Council in regard to his development applications.
[28] Mehajer came to public prominence in Australia and overseas after his 2015 marriage to his fiancé Aysha (formerly April Amelia Learmonth[29]) was widely publicised in the media.
[44] On 23 January 2018, Mehajer was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and with perverting the course of justice with regard to a car crash that occurred on 16 October 2017.
[50] However, the charges were later dismissed by the magistrate because the security camera had been broken in the council car park, where the alleged confrontation occurred, and he had no way of knowing for certain that Mehajer had threatened Herat, however, the AVO was extended by a further 12 months.
Mehajer took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and destroying or damaging property.
[55] On the same day, Mehajer was also accused of deliberately shutting a car door on a Seven News reporter's hand, and was subsequently charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
[57] On 28 March 2018, Mehajer was charged with two counts of possessing and one count of supplying a controlled drug, police allegedly found more than 200 anxiety and painkiller pills – 50 alprazolam (Xanax) tablets, and 174 Endone (Oxycodone) and Targin (Oxycodone and Naloxone) tablets – at the property developer's Lidcombe mansion during a raid on 8 November 2017.
[58] The Australian reported that he was convicted on 19 August 2020 of one count of possessing 63 Endone pills which had been found in six locations in his house, and in his manbag.
[59] Mehajer faced more fraud charges in mid-2023, in the NSW District Court, after he was accused of forging the signatures of his legal representative at the time, Zali Burrows, and his sister.
[60][61] In August 2016, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission banned Mehajer from managing any corporation for three years "as a means of protecting others from his incompetence".
[64] Tim Orlizki of law firm Kent Attorneys appeared in the Supreme Court seeking leave to withdraw from acting for Mr Mehajer in the liquidator's proceedings before a three-day hearing started, as he had not been paid.
[66] On 20 March 2018, a federal court judge declared Mehajer bankrupt, and appointed a trustee to manage his property and financial affairs.
[69][70][71] Mehajer was convicted of negligent driving on 23 October 2012 at Burwood Local Court where he had his licence disqualified and was sentenced to 150 hours of community service by magistrate Brian Maloney.
[72] The two injured women later sued him in 2014 and Mehajer reached a settlement with them in early October 2015, agreeing to pay AUD$1.72 million which was paid by his insurers, NRMA.
[73] Mehajer is under investigation for undervaluing his luxury cars to avoid higher stamp duty and demerit point shifting to other parties for driving offences.
This would mean Mehajer would only serve nine months of his 21-month sentence, despite reports of assaulting a prison officer and stockpiling medication during his time in Cooma Correctional Centre.