A judge has handed a Nova Scotia man a conditional discharge after he was convicted of hacking into a provincial government employee’s social media account and posting an antisemitic message that led to her firing.
Court heard that Samual Shaji of Halifax was charged in February 2024 with fraudulently impersonating Nargis DeMolitor in October 2023.
Court documents show Shaji had been hired to manage DeMolitor’s social media accounts between January and March 2023, but the passwords for those accounts were changed after his contract ended.
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At the time, DeMolitor was working for then immigration minister Jill Balser and was fired by a senior official in the Nova Scotia premier’s office soon after the offensive message appeared online.
In a victim impact statement, DeMolitor told the court in April that the antisemitic post with her name on it caused a devastating backlash that destroyed her career and reputation, while placing her personal safety at risk.
As for Shaji, during a sentencing hearing on June 8, he was placed on probation for one year and ordered to comply with several conditions that include alerting the court about any change in address, avoiding any contact with DeMolitor and refraining from accessing any online account belonging to someone else.
Provincial court Judge Alonzo Wright also ordered Shaji to complete 50 hours of community service within the first eight months of his probation period.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
