Atlantic City councilmember charged with voter fraud, lying to the FBI, and stealing pandemic benefits

An Atlantic City councilmember has been charged with voter fraud, lying to the FBI about the alleged voter fraud, and falsely collecting nearly $40,000 in pandemic benefits for the unemployed while he was working for Atlantic City, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

MD Hossain Morshed, 49, a Democrat who serves in the city’s 4th Ward, was accused in a 15-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Camden with persuading a resident of Galloway Township in 2019 to register to vote from an Atlantic City address, then later to apply to vote by mail. The fraudulent vote was cast during the 2019 primary election. Morshed was first elected to the council that year.

The voter, identified in the criminal complaint only as “prospective voter” one or “PV 1,” later admitted to not receiving, completing, or returning the mail-in ballot, U.S. Attorney R. Sellinger said in a statement.

“During lawfully recorded conversations between this voter and Morshed concerning possible questioning by law enforcement, Morshed directed the voter, if questioned by law enforcement, to make false representations about where the voter lived and who filled out the voter forms that Morshed had given to the voter,” Sellinger said.

Last year, Morshed met with “PV 1″ after law enforcement agents visited the voter’s Galloway Township residence, according to the criminal complaint.

In recorded conversations, Morshed reassured “PV 1″ that “... this is one-hundred percent legal,” the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Morshed had provided the voter registration form with the address and answers already written. When “PV 1″ later reminded Morshed about the form being prefilled, Morshed said: “Don’t say that this is not your writing. Then it’s gonna raise more question … you gonna say, ‘I filled it out, everything.”

FBI agents then questioned Morshed, who denied that he committed any of the unlawful actions, and falsely stated that he never asked people who lived outside Atlantic City to register to vote in Atlantic City’s 4th Ward, Sellinger said.

The criminal complaint states that Morshed approached three other “prospective voters” with the alleged scheme and two out of three fraudulent votes subsequently cast were counted in the primary election.

From April 2020 through September 2021, Morshed fraudulently collected $39,208 in unemployment benefits from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Sellinger said.

In April 2020, Morshed applied for pandemic unemployment assistance in New Jersey and listed his “main occupation” under the category of “taxi drivers and chauffeurs,” according to the criminal complaint.

He had created accounts with two ride-sharing companies in February and March of that year, the complaint states. Meanwhile, he was collecting $1,068.90 twice a month as an Atlantic City councilperson. Under the law, a person collecting more than $277 a week was not eligible for pandemic unemployment assistance.

Morshed periodically worked for the ride-sharing companies and on one day in August 2020, Morshed earned $1,562.21 from one of the ride-sharing companies while still collecting his council paycheck, the complaint states.

Morshed could not be reached for comment Friday night.

Morshed appeared Friday before U.S. District Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond. He was charged with one count of fraudulent procurement and submission of voter registration applications, one count of making false statements, and one count of wire fraud.

If convicted of the wire-fraud count, Morshed faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The counts for voter fraud and false statements each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Morshed also would face large fines and restitution.

He has had several prior run-ins with the law.

Last year, Morshed was accused of endangering his 12-year-old child during a fight with his wife, but prosecutors in January of this year downgraded the case, NJ.com reported.

Also last year, Morshed was hospitalized for injuries after being beaten in a city parking lot.