Mohammed Saderuddin Syed sentenced for stealing from Crosby Textor
A bombshell affidavit has revealed a political strategy firm’s former financial controller was working for an accountancy firm that fought fraud – while he was awaiting sentence for fraud.
Police & Courts
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A financial controller who stole more than $180,000 from his employers at a political strategy firm worked as a “forensic audit specialist” with the tagline “don’t wait for fraud to strike” – while he awaited sentence for fraud.
Mohammed Saderuddin Syed was once considered part of the family while he worked at Crosby Textor, a conservative strategy outfit that helped elect several Liberal prime ministers.
He abused his position of trust with the firm’s finances to steal $183,092.50 from CT Group between January 2012 and March 2018.
On Friday at Sydney District Court, Judge Nicole Noman convicted Syed of six counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage and sentenced him to four years and nine months’ imprisonment.
With a non-parole period of two years and 10 months, he will be eligible for release on August 24 2027.
Syed’s sentence hearing had concluded a week earlier, before the Crown sought to reopen their case with a bombshell affidavit revealing Syed had been working between 2022 and 2024 while he awaited sentence.
A report previously tendered indicated Syed had only briefly worked after being charged in 2019 and 2020.
“The offender obtained work as a contractor for an accountancy firm, holding himself out as a CPA and a Forensic Audit Specialist … the firm advertised his services by incongruously stating ‘don’t wait for fraud to strike’,” Judge Noman said.
“He brazenly lied to present a more powerful subjective case.”
While Syed was only sentenced for stealing just over $183,000, the 396 charges he originally faced prior to plea negotiations encompassed an alleged loss to CT Group of $2,952,016.20.
On October 18, Sir Lynton Crosby – speaking on behalf of himself and his CT Group co-founder Mark Textor – gave an emotional victim impact statement about the betrayal their firm had experienced.
“The dishonesty he now admits to represents a massive breach of trust that has deeply impacted our business, and us professionally,” Sir Lynton said.
“That breach of trust wasn’t just professional, it cut deep into our personal lives, violating the close bonds that we had naturally formed in our office.”
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