Australian police in New South Wales announced Wednesday that a 46-year-old man had been arrested and charged with allegedly attempting to defraud authorities by fabricating an injury sustained in the Hanukkah terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
He is suspected of doing so to obtain substantial financial compensation intended for victims of the attack.
According to a police statement, the man falsely claimed that he had been injured in the shooting on December 14, 2025, in which 15 people were killed. He subsequently filed fraudulent compensation claims. The amount he sought has not been disclosed.
The Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph identified the suspect as Simaxwell Cyril, an Indian citizen who claimed he had been struck by shrapnel during the attack. However, he is suspected of having fabricated the injury.
The Australian federal and New South Wales state governments operate a special assistance program for victims of the massacre. Under the program, eligible victims wounded by gunfire or shrapnel can receive a one-time payment of 35,000 Australian dollars, plus recognition grants and assistance covering medical expenses and financial losses.
The suspicions against Cyril came to light by chance during an investigation by detectives from the New South Wales Police Homicide Squad into police actions during the attack.
This investigation is separate from the terrorism investigation targeting the perpetrators of the massacre. While gathering evidence, detectives became suspicious that Cyril had provided a false account of his injury and used it to submit compensation claims.
Police arrested Cyril on Tuesday morning at a police station in Parramatta, western Sydney. He was charged with offenses of “publishing false or misleading information to obtain a benefit” and “making a false representation that resulted in the commencement of a police investigation.”
He was released on bail on restrictive conditions and must appear at Parramatta Local Court on November 18.
Cyril expected to be deported from Australia
However, his legal troubles did not end there. According to The Daily Telegraph, after his release on bail, Cyril was arrested by Australian immigration authorities on suspicion of remaining in the country beyond the expiration of his visa.
He was transferred to the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre and is expected to be deported from Australia.
The allegations prompted strong reactions within Australia’s Jewish community, which is still grappling with the aftermath of the attack. Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, condemned the alleged attempted fraud. He told the Nine Network that diverting police resources to investigate false claims when the community needs protection from security threats is an “abhorrent act that we should all condemn.”
What is the Bondi Beach massacre?
The massacre took place on December 14, 2025, when two attackers, a father, Sajid Akram, 50, and his son, Naveed, opened fire on hundreds of people attending a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.
Fifteen people, aged between 10 and 87, were killed, and approximately 40 were injured. The father was shot dead by police, while his son was wounded, arrested, and charged.
Meanwhile, a further hearing in the case against Naveed Akram, now 25, took place Wednesday, as the alleged compensation fraud case came to light. Akram faces 78 charges, including 15 counts of murder, 43 counts of attempted murder, and committing a terrorist act.
Judge Karen Stafford granted the prosecution’s request to postpone the hearing until February 2027 to allow time for consultations with victims and their families to be completed.
Police clarified that the investigation into the suspect accused of compensation fraud would not affect the proceedings against Akram.