By: Richard L. Smith

The City of Newark has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit stemming from a police press release that allegedly misidentified a North Jersey businessman as a suspect in a prostitution sting.

According to a report released on October 23, 2025, by Transparency New Jersey and open-government advocate John Paff , the Newark City Council approved the settlement during its August 6 meeting.

The agreement resolved a legal dispute brought by Mohammed Ibrahim of Boonton, who claimed city officials and police personnel wrongfully portrayed him as one of thirteen men arrested in a May 2019 prostitution sweep .

Ibrahim alleged that police altered an initial arrest report to substitute his name for the actual offender’s, then passed the

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