Thamer Ari: Mastermind of fraudulent car crash scams now wants to go home

Wannabe refugee and father-of-eight Thamer Ari, convicted of masterminding a car crash scam, now says he would rather go home to the country he claims wants him dead.

Stuck in detention with no money, eight kids and a fed-up wife, wannabe refugee Thamer Ari, convicted of masterminding a car crash scam, says he would rather go home to the country he claims wants him dead.

Sporting a fresh black eye from an alleged Christmas beating, Ari 40, is begging the Australian government to send him home to Iraq after years of pleading to stay here.

He said his wife, who The Daily Telegraph has previously revealed is living in a townhouse with their children aged from three to 15 costing the taxpayer at least $1600 a fortnight, was not happy.

Iraqi national and refugee Thamer Ari now wants to go home, where he claims his life is in danger.

“I do not want to lose my wife and children because a year and five months ago the financial aid stopped and there is no-one to help me or help them,”Ari said from detention through an interpreter.

“My wife asked that I agree to sign to return because she can no longer take care of our children without my assistance.”

Ari has been locked up in Villawood Detention Centre for almost three years since his release from jail.

He had been sentenced to a maximum of 16 months after pleading guilty to masterminding a multi-milion dollar third party insurance scam involving fellow boat arrivals he met on Christmas Island.

Ari’s black eye after an alleged beating. He was convicted of masterminding a multi-million dollar car crash scam. Picture: Supplied

He staged two crashes. In the first in Liverpool in 2015, the driver of a Thrifty minibus with 12 passengers on board all of whom Ari had met on Christmas Island, said he was startled after a spider landed on his hand.

In the second, Ari was driving his own Toyota with eight Iraqi refugees from Christmas Island which he said crashed after he was startled by a spider. All the passengers lodged third party insurance claims.

Despite them losing their final appeal for refugee status in late 2019, Ari and his family could not be deported because Iraq would not issue travel documents for people forcibly sent back. The only way they can return is voluntarily.

Ari said he had changed his mind despite his life remaining in danger in Iraq where he said he had been a police officer and a false sentence of death had been passed against him after his involvement with US troops. He claimed to have been kidnapped and tortured.

His father, a Shia tribal leader and cook, was shot dead.

“My life is in danger in Iraq but I signed for the return (request) because I do not want to lose my wife and children,”Ari said.

His claim for refugee status was denied by the Federal Circuit Court which found the family can safely return home to southern Iraq through Baghdad and Basra airports.

The couple arrived in Australia in July 2013 with five children and the youngest were born here.

Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton said last year that they would be “deported tomorrow” if there were travel documents. It is understood Ari has a meeting arranged with the Iraqi consulate.

Australian Border Force said they could not comment on “individual cases or on potential removals before they occur”.

NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police both said last night that they were not investating an assault at Villawood.