MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Five individuals were accused on Wednesday of plotting to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag containing $120,000 in cash in exchange for the exoneration of defendants in one of the largest COVID-19-related fraud cases in the country, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
Court documents unveiled a lavish scheme where the accused individuals conducted research on the juror’s personal life through social media, surveilled her, monitored her daily activities, and even purchased a GPS device to install on her vehicle. The defendants reportedly targeted the juror, identified as “Juror 52,” because she was the youngest and believed to be the only person of color on the jury.
The group developed a plan of arguments to influence the juror and sway other jury members towards acquittal, by introducing the narrative that the prosecutors were driven by racial prejudice: “We are immigrants, they don’t respect us,” one of the proposed arguments stated.
The juror reported the bribery attempt and was subsequently dismissed from the case before deliberations commenced.
The attempt at bribery drew attention back to the trial of seven Minnesota defendants accused of orchestrating the theft of over $40 million from a federal program intended to provide meals for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities claim that more than $250 million in federal funds were embezzled in the scheme, with only $50 million recovered so far.
The indicted individuals, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, and Ladan Mohamed Ali, face charges of conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror, and corruptly influencing a juror. Abdiaziz Shafii Farah is additionally charged with obstruction of justice.
Following their convictions earlier this month, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, while Said Shafii Farah was acquitted. Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali were not implicated in the fraud trial.
‘Resembling a Scene from a Crime Film’
Investigators spent three weeks sifting through evidence to uncover the elaborate scheme, which was likened to something out of a mob movie by U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.
The five individuals charged sought to secure an acquittal not based on evidence, but through an intricate plan to influence the jury, he stated.
According to the indictment, the scheme was devised in mid-May. Ali, accused of delivering the bribe money to the juror’s residence, flew from Seattle to Minneapolis on May 17 to meet Nur and agreed to deliver the bribe money to the home of juror #52 in exchange for $150,000.
She returned to Minneapolis on May 30 and the following day attempted to tail the woman as she left a parking garage near the courthouse.
On June 2, Abdiaziz Farah instructed Nur to meet at Said Farah’s business to collect the bribe money, as per the indictment. When Nur arrived, Said Farah gave him a box containing the money and instructed him to “be safe.” Later that day, Nur handed the money to Ali after picking her up from a parking lot. Subsequently, Ali and Abdulkarim Farah went to a Target store, bought a screwdriver, used it to remove the license plates from Ali’s rental car, and then drove to the juror’s residence.
While Farah stayed in the car recording, Ali knocked on the door and was greeted by the juror’s relative. Ali handed over a gift bag and implied there would be more money if the juror voted for acquittal.
Upon returning home, the juror contacted the police and turned over the bag, according to an FBI affidavit. The affidavit noted that the individual who left the bag was aware of the juror’s first name. While the jurors’ names remain confidential, various individuals including prosecutors, defense lawyers, and the seven defendants had access to them.
On June 3, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel instructed all seven defendants to surrender their phones following the report of the bribery attempt. Abdiaziz Farah proceeded to erase all messages and photos detailing the scheme by performing a factory reset of his iPhone, according to court records.
Two days later, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Abdiaziz Farah’s residence and discovered a list of the jurors hidden inside a plastic water bottle.
Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah, and Abdulkarim Farah appeared in federal court for their initial hearings on Wednesday afternoon. The defense attorney representing them declined to comment after the hearing.
All three individuals requested representation from the Office of the Federal Defender, a request objected to by prosecutors citing the defendants’ access to funds stored abroad. Prosecutors revealed that Abdiaziz Farah transferred millions in embezzled money to Kenya and other parts of East Africa, which was utilized for the purchase and development of a 12-story apartment building in Nairobi.
Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko temporarily granted the defendants their requested representation and scheduled an arraignment and detention hearing for July 1. Ali is set to make her initial court appearance on Thursday.
Trials on Other Pandemic-Related Fraud Cases Still Ongoing
Seventy individuals have been charged in federal court for their alleged involvement in the pandemic-related fraud scheme focused on a nonprofit organization called Feeding Our Future. Alongside the five convictions earlier in June, eighteen other defendants have pleaded guilty, with trials still pending for the remaining accused.
Federal prosecutors claim that the conspiracy exploited relaxed rules during the pandemic to prevent an economic collapse. The FBI initiated an investigation in the spring of 2021, revealing activities such as generating false invoices, operating shell companies, money laundering, engaging in passport fraud, and accepting kickbacks.
The funds, received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the state through partners like Feeding Our Future, were misappropriated. An inquiry by the Minnesota Legislature’s oversight body revealed inadequate supervision by the state education department over the federal program, enabling the theft.
Luger, formerly involved in dismantling the Mafia’s “Five Families” as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, remarked on the manifestation of such corruption in Minnesota. He suggested that this incident could prompt federal prosecutors to reevaluate their approach to jury trials and develop new strategies to combat legal interference.
