Wafaa and Adel Al Shamari face sentencing for kidnapping at South Granville

Two siblings threatened to cut off their elderly victim’s fingers during a violent kidnapping after they turned on him for an alleged $2m NDIS fraud.

A judge who will sentence Wafaa Al Shamari and her brother Adel for kidnapping a man at South Granville after they turned on him for an alleged $2m NDIS scam has described their actions as mirroring a gangster movie.

The pair, along with Waffa’s childhood friend, Nada Hamze, and Hossein Mirnezami detained Alija “Alan” Magjarraj at Hamze’s South Granville home on May 24, 2021.

During a trial for the Al Shamari siblings last year, the court heard how Mr Magjarraj met his business partner, Wafaa, and Mirnezami at Stockland Merrylands.

Mr Magjarraj and Wafaa had been feuding over $50,000, which Mr Magjarraj lent to Wafaa for a business deal, the jury heard.

Wafaa’s safe full of money and valuables had gone missing and she suspected Mr Magjarraj was responsible.

When the trio decided to search Wafaa’s Namur St investment property, which Ms Hamze was renting, they turned on Mr Magjarraj.

After they drove to the home in Wafaa’s white Porsche, Mirnezami cut Mr Magjarraj’s neck and blood began dripping on to his shirt.

The court heard when Adel and his other sister Muna arrived, despite Mr Magjarraj bleeding, Adel unleashed more violence, striking Mr Magjarraj a “few times with closed fists”, hitting him near his right eye, punching him to the ground and threatening to chop off his fingers during the two-hour ordeal.

“This sounded like something out of a gangster movie - grabbing the man’s hand, placing it on the table and threatening to cut his fingers off,’’ Judge Siobhan Herbert told Parramatta District Court on Friday.

Judge Herbert told the court Wafaa was the group’s prime mover and her offending was worse than her brother’s actions.

The defence told the court the victim did not suffer visible injuries despite multiple assaults and exaggerated his bruising, of which there was no evidence on CCTV.

Adel Al Shamari at a court appearance in Parramatta last year. Picture: John Grainger

Wafaa Al Shamari is now in custody. Picture: John Grainger

Mr Magjarraj was forced to hand his phone to Wafaa and Hamze and they took photos of his children and tried to contact him the next day, the court heard.

Wafaa sent text messages after the offence, which Judge Herbert showed they were “seeking to keep going, they’re seeking to go after him”.

The victim told police and Wafaa, Adel and Nada Hamze were arrested and charged.

The Al Shamari siblings were charged with take/detain in company with intention to get advantage occasion actual bodily harm and were found guilty following trials in November 2022.

Hamze was charged with take/detain in company with intention to get advantage occasion actual bodily harm and goods suspected stolen in/on premises (not motor vehicle). She will be sentenced on April 14.

Mirnezami also pleaded guilty to kidnapping and, just before the trial started on November 21, was sentenced to a maximum three years in prison.

Muna and other Al Shamari family members were not accused of any wrongdoing in relation to the abduction.

Last week in court, Adel appeared in person from custody and his sister appeared via video link from prison.

During sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Geoff Kidd told the court how the siblings’ accounts to psychologists were unreliable.

Wafaa told one professional that she had only smoked cannabis but the court heard how she told another psychologist she had abused ice for two years.

“This is someone who will tell people things that will benefit her when she sees fit,’’ Mr Kidd said.

“She has no qualms whatsoever of providing different versions in that particular point of time which best benefit her.’’

Wafaa and Adel Al Shamari will be sentenced this week.

The court heard her brother, who was using non-prescription valium at the time of the abduction and has severe depression, suggested he could recall something that happened in his family’s homeland of Iraq when he was three despite not living there then.

The court heard how his family had fled Iraq during the Gulf War.

His barrister wants an intensive correction order for Adel, which would allow him to be released from jail and serve it in the community.

The pair will be sentenced on Thursday.

In December, two more Al Shamari siblings - Khaled and Muna - were named in the NDIS court documents.

Police say the alleged NDIS fraud was only uncovered during the kidnapping of Mr Magjarraj, who is one of the accused NDIS co-conspirators and was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud.

Wafaa is accused of playing a central role in creating fake care companies - with names such as Angel and Guardian Care - to allegedly bill $2m to the NDIS.

It is alleged the companies failed to provide services but collected on six-figure invoices.

Neither Wafaa or Adel have entered pleas for the NDIS charges.

Officers from the strike force, Operation Pyxis, also charged the father of the Al Shamari siblings, Kareem, with dealing with the proceeds of crime.

The NDIS fraud allegations remain before the court.