Councilman sentenced to community service for election conviction

By Charles Sercombe
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan faces 80 hours of community service for his misdemeanor conviction of forging an absentee ballot in the 2023 election.
Hassan had faced two felony charges of election fraud, but a Wayne County Circuit Court jury found him not guilty of those charges.
The conviction apparently ends a probe into allegations of ballot stuffing from that election. The only other councilmember who was caught up in election-fraud-related charges is Muhtasin Sadman, who also escaped felony election fraud charges.
Sadman, who is in his first term, was convicted of a misdemeanor for “disorderly person loitering about an illegal business.”
Hassan has served on city council for a total of 16 years.
He has recently come under criticism by another councilmember, Nayeem Choudhury, for causing “chaos” during city council meetings which have become increasingly volatile.
Besides being sentenced to community service, Wayne County Circuit Court Visiting Judge Michael Hathaway ordered him to pay various court fees and fines. Hassan was also placed on a year’s probation.
He could have been sentenced up to 90 days in jail.
Hathaway was highly critical of Hamtramck’s political scene, saying it’s “nonsensical drama,” and he further stated he found it “baffling” that the city has been embroiled in election fraud accusations.
The judge said that he hopes, going forward, Hassan and the city “will improve the political atmosphere and integrity of the good governance in that city.”
Hassan said little during his sentencing, other than that he was “really sorry to be in the court system about these circumstances.”
His conviction centers around forging a resident’s signature on an absentee ballot. The person in question, Zerin Sultana, testified that she did not sign off on an absentee ballot, and that she did not vote.
The investigation initially involved agents with the state attorney general’s office, but the AG decided to seek a prosecutor from the state to take over the prosecution.
AG Dana Nessel removed her office from the prosecution, saying she had a conflict of interest because of her past criticism of city officials who had banned the display of a pride flag on public property, and also because she is gay and Jewish, which could appear to be a conflict with an all-Muslim city council.
The Monroe County Assistant Prosecutor’s Office took over the prosecution.
Monroe Assistant Prosecutor Ragan Lake told the court at Hassan’s sentencing that Hassan “has a duty to make sure elections are run fairly, and in accordance with the law.”
In the court of public opinion, at least on social media, residents were not happy with what was perceived as a light sentencing.
“What a F-ing joke of a sentence,” said Robert Klincewich.
But Hassan does have his supporters.
“He is (a) short-tempered person but dedicated to the city welfare,” said Muhammad Raihanuzzaman.
Posted Aug. 14, 2026