ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – A councilman in Atlantic City is facing serious federal charges today. The Department of Justice has charged the Atlantic City councilman with submitting false benefits claims and misrepresenting his residence.
The Department of Justice said MD Hossain Morshed, 49, a councilman elected to Atlantic City’s Fourth Ward, also made false statements to the FBI about interactions with prospective voters, and filed false unemployment benefit claims with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Morshed was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of fraudulent procurement and submission of voter registration applications, one count of making false statements, and one count of wire fraud.
According to court records, Morshed falsified voting records.
“In April 2019, in advance of the June 2019 primary election, Morshed gave a prospective voter a New Jersey voter registration application that had already been filled out and which falsely asserted that the prospective voter had a residential address in the Fourth Ward in Atlantic City,” the DOJ said in its complaint. “Even though the address written on the form was not where the voter actually lived, Morshed urged the prospective voter to sign the application.”
When asked about the false address, the DOJ claims Morshed lied to FBI investigators.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Morshed also defrauded the NJDOL of $39,208 in unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled.
“Morshed applied for and was approved to receive various unemployment benefits related to New Jersey’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program even though he was earning compensation for his employment as an Atlantic City Councilperson, and additional income as a driver,” Sellinger added.