An Egyptian former Australian of the Year finalist has been hit with dozens of criminal charges seven years after a corruption inquiry found she allegedly rorted almost $800,000 in public funds while running two charities.
Eman Sharobeem, who also faked her credentials, was accused by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2018 of engaging in corrupt conduct while principal of the Immigrant Women’s Health Service (IWHS) and the Non-English Speaking Housing Women’s Scheme (NESH).
On September 15 the NSW Director of Public Prosecution charged her with a range of offences, including 24 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
She was also charged with four counts of obtaining money by deception, three counts of publishing false or misleading material to obtain advantage and two counts of making a false statement under oath, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Sharobeem came to Australia from Egypt in 1987 and made headlines after claiming she was forced to marry her first cousin and endure a violent marriage before being widowed at age 29.
She was then appointed to a series of boards, given a high-profile job by SBS, and nominated as Australian of the Year in the NSW Local Hero category for her contribution to women’s rights and her work as IWHS chief executive.
Sharobeem insisted she was innocent during the ICAC inquiry, at one point claiming she had been framed by colleagues, but ICAC found she had misappropriated $773,000 to fund her lavish lifestyle.
ICAC alleged she used NESH money to pay for her son’s liposuction, arranged the IWHS to pay $60,000 to work on her property, transferred $440,000 from IWHS to her own bank account, and used the funds to pay the State Debt Recovery Office and Sydney Water.
She also allegedly submitted invoices totalling $140,000 that falsely claimed she and her sons worked as facilitators.
Header image: Left, Eman Sharobeem. Right, Sharobeem receiving her Australian of the Year Award commendation from then-NSW premier Mike Baird (supplied).
