Handwriting samples parsed as jury weighs Hamtramck election fraud case

George Hunter, The Detroit News on Jul 1, 2026

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DETROIT — Dotted and undotted i's, and loops in r's are among the evidence to be scrutinized by jurors who will decide whether a Hamtramck City Council member forged a signature on a woman's absentee ballot in 2023.

The Wayne County Circuit Court jury began deliberations Wednesday following three days of testimony, in which they heard from six witnesses in the trial of Mohammed Hassan. The councilman, who also serves as Hamtramck's mayor pro tem, is charged with forging a signature on an absentee ballot, election law forgery and making a false statement in an application for an absentee ballot.

The first two charges are punishable by up to five years in prison.

The case hinges on an application for an absentee ballot allegedly filed by Hamtramck resident Zerin Sultana, which Hassan claimed he assisted Sultana in filing. Sultana testified during the trial that she did not want the application, did not sign it and that Hassan did not assist her in filing it.

Hassan went to Sultana’s home in the summer of 2023 with absentee ballot applications. Sultana said she did not fill out the form, however, because she doesn’t vote.

Michigan State Police Forensic Scientist McKenzie Weyh testified Wednesday that she had the highest possible level of certainty that Hassan's signature was on Sultana's absentee ballot, although her analysis about a signature on the accompanying envelope wasn't as conclusive.

"My conclusion was it was probable that Mohammed Hassan wrote the questioned writing on the questioned envelope, but there was ... a limited amount of known writing still available for comparison," Weyh said.

Weyh noted that the loops on the r's in Hassan's handwriting samples were similar to those on the ballot and envelope, while some i's were dotted and others weren't.

During closing arguments, Assistant Monroe County Prosecutor Leah Hubbard told jurors to "use your own eyes" to determine whether Hassan forged Sultana's signature.

"Zerin Sultana had a right to vote and a right not to vote," Hubbard said. "The defendant, Mohammed Hassan, in the fall of 2023 took that right away from her.

"Zerin told you during this trial that she did not want to vote for the defendant, and that she was not going to vote for the defendant, and that she did not, in fact, vote for the defendant."

Hubbard said Hassan went to Sultana's home to pressure her mother to talk her into voting for him, and that an argument ensued.

"The defendant used his connections to Zarin Sultana's mother to approach her about voting for her in her own home," Hubbard said. "He even brought election forms to her home after Zarin made it clear that she would not vote for the defendant.

"The evidence has proven that the defendant took steps to steal Zarin's vote without her consent," Hubbard said. "The evidence has shown that an application for an absentee voter ballot and a ballot envelope were filed with the Hamtramck City Clerk's Office in the fall of 2023. The evidence has also shown that in early November, an absentee vote was cast in Zarin Sultana's name.

"Ask yourselves: Who had a motive to forge Zarin Sultana's name?" Hubbard asked the jury. "Who benefited?"

Hassan's attorney Scott Ruark said Sultana showed during the trial that her memory was unreliable and that, under cross-examination, the witness could not recall other instances in which she'd signed documents.

"The government's entire case is predicated on the notion that (Sultana) didn't sign the documents, but evidence was presented that she signed documents in the past, but did not remember," Ruark said. "I believe she has an issue with her memory. That's not a criticism. But it's not a far-fetched argument.

"I'm not going to stand before you and say that there aren't questions," Hassan's attorney told the jury. "I'm not going to stand here and say that the prosecution presented all unreliable witnesses. I believe that they did present reliable witnesses. But (the prosecutors) have not fulfilled what the law requires of them, which is to prove every element of every charge beyond a reasonable doubt."

Monroe County prosecutors are trying the case after being appointed as special prosecutors. Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said it asked for a special prosecutor based on Nessel's past criticism of the Hamtramck City Council's "anti-LGBTQ policies" and on Nessel's decision to prosecute pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan.

Hamtramck Councilman Muhtasin Sadman was also accused of forging an absentee ballot, aiding two unqualified electors to vote in the 2023 election and election fraud. But two witnesses did not appear for his preliminary exam, and the charges were dismissed.

The investigation was initiated by City Manager Max Garbarino, who was subsequently suspended and fired by the council, and he countered by suing for racial discrimination. After Garbarino made the allegations in May 2025, amid a visit by the FBI, he suspended Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri. The City Council, prompted by then-Mayor Amer Ghalib, in turn suspended Garbarino.

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