A Carrollton man who wants to be mayor is planning his strategy from jail. Authorities Zul Mirza Mohamed, 39, stands accused of more than 100-counts of voter fraud.
Investigators were notified that ballot applications had been requested to be sent to a nursing home address in Lewisville, according to the Denton County Sheriff's office. However, nobody from the facility had made such a request. Investigators say after they learned someone used a falsified driver's license to request the ballots, they set up a surveillance camera and sent an undercover officer to the nursing home to monitor.
They say Mohamed picked up the ballots Wednesday and took them to his Carrollton home. He was arrested after a search warrant was obtained, the Sheriff's office says.
Carrollton Mayor Kevin Falconer says Mohamed has run for mayor and council before, without success.
"I am obviously surprised and if this true I'm disappointed" said Falconer. "It's just not what the citizens of Carrollton deserve. They deserve better than that."
The election year arrest in the politically charged atmosphere was immediately seized on by Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton.
"Mail ballots are inherently insecure and vulnerable to fraud, and I am committed to safeguarding the integrity of our elections. My office is prepared to assist any Texas county in combating this form of fraud." Paxton said.
Court records show Mohamad had two arrests in 2010, one for family violence and another for giving police a false identification. Mohamed pleaded guilty no contest to the domestic violence and the case was dismissed after he successfully completed probation. The other charge was also dismissed, according to his former attorney Tom Pappas.
Mohamed could not be contacted for this story because of COVID 19 restrictions in the Denton County jail.
