DA: Former Lodi City Councilmember Shakir Khan pleads no contest to election fraud, illegal gambling
LODI - Former Lodi City Council member Shakir Khan pleaded no contest to 77 felony and misdemeanor charges, including election fraud, in three cases in San Joaquin County, District Attorney Ron Freitas announced Thursday.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon outside the courthouse, Freitas said of those counts, 41 were tied to illegal gambling, money laundering, tax evasion and grand theft.
"He can no longer ever hold office in San Joaquin County again," Freitas said. "Today is a reminder that the law will be applied fairly to everyone in San Joaquin County, no matter what your title."
Another 22 counts involved false claims filed to the Employment Development Department related to COVID-19 reimbursements.
The final 14 counts were charges of election fraud in connection with the 2020 election, the year Khan ran for and was elected to the Lodi City Council.
"Our people have to have confidence that our elections are done fairly," Freitas said.
Freitas said Khan notified the district attorney's office that he intended to admit to the charges earlier this week, ahead of his trial. Prosecutors then agreed to Khan changing his plea.
Olivia Hale with the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters told CBS13 that in the upcoming 2024 election cycle, election integrity is of utmost importance.
"Election security is a high priority and something we take very seriously," Hale said.
CBS13 asked Hale: what security measures have been ramped up since 2020?
"We've included surveillance cameras at all of our drop boxes throughout the county. That's a new item we've added," she said. "We also utilize our sheriff's department to provide escorts to us on election night to ensure all ballots are secured as they are coming back to our central count location."
Hale also said that a new system tracks and identifies multiple voters being registered to one home address.
"It flags any address that has more than ten voters," she said.
Khan is charged with having more than 20 people registered to vote at his home address in 2020 and nearly 50 people registered to vote using his personal email address and phone number.
CBS13 confronted Khan directly about the election fraud allegations in March 2023.
"There's no legitimacy to the charges filed against you?" asked reporter Ashley Sharp.
"Absolutely no, and that is going to be dealt with in the court of law," Khan responded.
Khan declined to be interviewed for this story. Instead, his attorney sent a statement to CBS13.
"Today, Mr. Khan has made a difficult decision in the best interest of his family and his future," Khan's lawyer Allen Sawyer said Thursday. "Facing a potential State Prison sentence of 40 years, Mr. Khan has accepted a plea agreement with the court, which under the terms will result in a 2-year sentence at the San Joaquin County Jail. With standard procedures and credit for time served, we anticipate the actual time served to be closer to one year."
Khan resigned from the city council after he was arrested in February 2023 for election fraud.
Body camera footage showed then-Mayor Mikey Hothi's interaction with Khan in jail, presenting the former city councilman with the resignation papers in jail. Hothi said Khan agreed to resign and then signed the letter.
The following month, Khan protested his resignation, claiming it was "coerced" and not legitimate.
Khan's attorney told CBS13 that his client was "under duress" when Hothi "forced him'" to resign without any legal representation there.
The Lodi City Council voted to replace Khan on March 7, 2023.
"No decision has been made whether Mr. Khan will move forward with his lawsuit regarding his removal from City Council," said Sawyer in Thursday's statement.
Khan is expected back in court on Jan. 16 for official sentencing.