Man charged with fraud over Bondi Beach shooting claim

Australian police have charged a man with falsely claiming he was injured in a mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in an attempt to gain financial compensation.

A father-and-son duo allegedly carried out the gun attack on a Jewish festival at the beach in December last year, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.

“Detectives identified a 46-year-old man who allegedly made a false statement that he was injured in the Bondi shooting and made subsequent fraudulent claims for compensation in the aftermath,” New South Wales police said in a statement Wednesday.

Police said they arrested the man on Tuesday and charged him with publishing false and misleading material to obtain advantage.

He was given conditional bail, and is scheduled to appear in western Sydney’s Parramatta Local Court on Nov 18.

One of the Bondi Beach gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the Dec 14 attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.

His son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody facing a total of 78 charges including terrorism and 15 murders.

A Sydney court on Wednesday set Naveed Akram’s committal hearing for Feb 24 next year, when he is set to appear by audio-video link from prison.