Man charged with posing as Sydney Hanukkah massacre victim to get compensation

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A man was charged with lying about being injured during the massacre of 15 people at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration last year in a bid to gain financial compensation for victims of crime, and on Wednesday the prosecution of an alleged perpetrator was postponed until next year.

A 46-year-old man was charged in Sydney on Tuesday with publishing misleading material to obtain financial advantage and with false representation resulting in a police investigation, a police statement said on Wednesday.

The man, whose name has not been made public, claimed to have been wounded at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, 2025, when two gunmen opened fire on a crowd, killing 15 people aged 10 to 87 and wounding around 40 people.

Police released the fraud suspect on bail to appear in a Sydney court on Nov. 18, the statement said.

Police shot one of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, dead during the attack and wounded his son, Naveed Akram , now aged 25. Police allege the pair were inspired by the Islamic State group.

The son appeared in a Sydney court on Wednesday on 78 charges including 15 counts of murder, 43 of attempted murder and one of committing a terrorist act. Akram has yet to enter any plea.

Police said in a statement the fraud suspect allegedly pretending to be a victim “will have no impact on the matters currently before the court.”

Judge Karen Stafford granted Prosecutor Danielle New’s application to have the case adjourned until Feb. 24. Defense lawyers did not object.

New had told the court prosecutors needed more time to consult with victims and their relatives before charges could be certified.

The charge certification process formally sets out which charges will proceed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales state for trial.

Police have not detailed which victims of crime compensation scheme the suspect had attempted to scam. The state government offered Bondi victims up to 5,000 Australian dollars ($3,500) for those injured and triple that sum for relatives of victims who had died. The government also offered victims up to 30,000 Australian dollars ($21,000) for economic loss.

Additional financial help was offered to cover urgent health expenses.

Sydney's The Daily-Telegraph newspaper reported the suspect was an Indian national who was taken by immigration officials from the police station to the country's largest immigration detention center and could potentially be deported.

The Home Affairs Department said in a statement that an Indian national had been detained at that police station Tuesday after being charged.

But the department “cannot comment on individual matters for privacy reasons,” the statement said, declining to provide further detail.

Members of Sydney’s Jewish community have been appalled by the allegation that someone had attempted to make money from the Bondi tragedy.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin described the alleged fraud as despicable.

“To use police resources when we need police investigating matters and keeping us safe nearly a year on, when we still have security challenges in the community and wider society, ... is something despicable and we all have to condemn it,” Ryvchin told Nine Network television.