Feb. 15—Lodi City Councilman Shakir Khan was arrested on several elections fraud charges on Thursday morning and was booked into San Joaquin County Jail.

The Sheriff's Office posted a "reel" of Khan being arrested in Lodi, with a litany of offenses related to the 2020 election.

Charges include causing, procuring or allowing false voter registration of self or another person; submitting fraudulent registration to the Secretary of State; submitting a fraudulent candidacy petition; aiding or abetting the commission of fraud at any election; subscription of fictitious names to nomination petitions, false nomination/declaration of candidacy; fraudulently casting votes; and procuring/assisting/counseling/advising another not qualified to vote.

The Sheriff's Office said it will hold a press conference detailing his arrest at 1 p.m.

Khan's arrest comes just a day after the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office announced that the councilman would appear in court next Tuesday to be held to answer prior charges of illegal gambling, money laundering, tax evasion and Employment Development Department fraud.

The first-term councilman was arrested in 2020, just days before he won election to the city council.

San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas announced on Wednesday that Khan and his brother, Zakir Khan, were held to answer on a litany of charges.

"The Honorable Judge Richard M. Mallett held the defendants to answer on numerous charges, including illegal gambling and money laundering," Freitas said. "I commend Deputy District Attorney Kelly McDaniel, Deputy District Attorney Todd Turner, and Paralegal Macie McKinstry for prosecuting this case."

The preliminary hearing spanned six days. Shakir and Zakir Khan return to the San Joaquin County Superior Court in Department 6D on Feb. 21 for arraignment on the information.

Shakir Khan was arrested on Oct. 28, 2020. The Sheriff's Office at the time said he was one of seven arrested during a weeks-long investigation into illegal gambling establishments throughout the county. He was released from San Joaquin County Jail later that evening.

Shakir Khan emailed a comment from his attorney Allen Sawyer to the News-Sentinel following his arrest. In the email, Sawyer said his client sold the business in question before it had been involved in Internet gambling.

"Mr. Khan denies these charges and looks forward to clearing his name," Sawyer said at that time. "None of these allegations involve his office of City Council. Mr. Khan has no intentions of resigning his office. Mr. Khan asks the public that they withhold judgment and that he be afforded the presumption of innocence."

According to the 45-page complaint filed against Khan, he had been allowing illegal gambling to occur at the American Smokers Club, located at 2620 E. Waterloo Road in Stockton, between Feb. 14, 2018 and Sept. 7, 2020.

Zakir Khan had been permitting illegal gambling activities at the One Stop Smoke Shop, located at 2525 E. Fremont St. in Stockton, between Feb. 4 and Oct. 28, 2020, according to the complaint.

Shakir Khan also allegedly provided false statements to the EDD regarding unemployment compensation for himself and several other people in 2020.

In all, Shakir Khan was charged with 63 felony counts, including 41 counts for money laundering totaling millions of dollars, four counts of filing false tax returns and five counts of possessing illegal gambling machines.