Two Bangladeshis jailed in the US

Two councilmen from the Millbourne Borough of Pennsylvania, Nurul Hasan (48) and Rafiqul Islam (52), have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and fines for conspiring to sway the election results in their favor through fraudulent voting. On June 18, Judge Harvey Bartel of the Federal Court in Philadelphia announced the verdict in the fraud case. Nurul Hasan, a son of Bandar Tila in Chittagong, was released after serving three years in prison, but will have to remain under the strict supervision of the authorities for another year and has been fined $3,300. Nurul Hasan was a mayoral candidate for Millbourne Borough in 2021. Nurul Hasan, who has been elected as a councilman of the borough since 2016, engaged in such fraudulent behavior to defeat another Bangladeshi candidate for the post of mayor, Mahbubul Alam Tayyab. It is worth noting that Tayyab is also a son of Halishahar in Chittagong. In the same case of fake votes and fraud, Milborne Borough Councilman Rafiqul Islam was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and will have to be under the supervision of the authorities for another year after serving his sentence. He has been fined $1,000. Rafiqul Islam, a native of Kushtia, has been elected as the borough councilman since 2019. The same judge will announce the prison and fine against another accused in the same case, Councilman Mansur Ali (48), on June 26. Mansur Ali is from Pabna. All three of them pleaded guilty to their crimes last April and submitted letters of recommendation to the court from prominent figures in the community to reduce their sentences. But the administration has considered the conspiracy to change the election results as a serious crime and has announced the maximum sentence, Pennsylvania US Attorney David Metcalfe told the media. Citing the case, US Attorney David Metcalfe said that after a lengthy investigation, the three accused were found guilty in February of voter registration fraud, making people vote at fake addresses in other areas, and forging signatures before mailing ballots to vote for themselves. Two months later, in April, all three pleaded guilty. Nurul Hasan and Rafiqul Islam will report to the nearest prison on August 15 and their prison terms will begin that day.

Most of the councilmen, including the mayor, of ' Milbourne Borough ', a small area within the City of Philadelphia, are Bangladeshi. Many use this city as an example of the rise of Bangladeshis in mainstream politics and administration in the United States. The entire community is shocked by the news that the elected councilmen of that city are involved in such fraud and deception. It is known that similar allegations of fraud and deception have been made against a Bangladeshi councilman in Hamtromic City, Michigan, which has a Bangladeshi population. The latest news has revealed that a high-level investigation is underway in that regard as well. In the above fraud and fraud case details of the three candidates of Milbourne Borough, it has been revealed that the names and dates of birth of acquaintances who are not residents of this borough were stolen and made voters at this address and their emails were given while registering as voters. All this was done on the website of the Board of Elections. Then, requests to vote by mail were made on the website. After the ballot arrived at the alleged address, the three collected it (since they were the ones who provided the address) and after Nurul Hasan voted for mayor, it was returned to the Board of Elections office by mail. In this case, a fake signature was provided. Even after casting such a fake vote, Nurul Hasan was defeated by Tayyab by a margin of 27 votes. FBI Special Agent Wine A. Jacobs led the investigation into this fraud in Philadelphia. US Attorney Metcalfe said, "The defendants were trying to steal the will of the voters in deciding who would be the mayor of Milborn Borough. Public trust in the electoral system is crucial. That is why my office is committed to holding fair and credible elections." FBI Special Agent Wine said, "The electoral process is the foundation of democracy." In this situation, those who seek to rig the results through fraud are not only engaging in illegal activities, but they are also engaging in a conspiracy against the will of the voters and conspiring to question the democratic system. The FBI is always committed to keeping the electoral system impartial.