MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Five people faced charges on Wednesday for attempting to bribe a juror in one of the largest COVID-19-related fraud cases in the country by offering a bag containing $120,000 in cash, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI on Wednesday.
The attempt to bribe a juror, which U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger referred to as a “chilling attack on our justice system,” brought renewed attention to the trial of seven defendants from Minnesota accused of orchestrating a scheme to embezzle over $40 million from a federal program meant to provide meals for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities report that more than $250 million in federal funds were fraudulently obtained, with only about $50 million recovered.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, and Ladan Mohamed Ali are each charged with conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror, and corruptly influencing a juror, as outlined in the indictment.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah also faces an additional charge of obstruction of justice.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Mohamed Nur were previously convicted in the fraud trial while Said Shafii Farah was acquitted. Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali were not implicated.
Three of the individuals were scheduled to make their initial court appearances on Wednesday afternoon.
Investigators spent three weeks sifting through extensive evidence to uncover the bribery scheme, which Luger described as “reminiscent of a scene from a mob movie.”
The five individuals charged sought to secure an acquittal not based on the evidence but “through an elaborate plan to infiltrate the jury,” according to Luger.
According to an FBI agent’s affidavit, a woman visited the home of “Juror #52” in the Minneapolis suburb of Spring Lake Park the night before the fraud case went to the jury in early June and left a gift bag with a “present” for the juror with a relative who answered the door.
“The woman instructed the relative to convey to Juror #52 to vote not guilty the next day and more ‘presents’ would follow the next day,” the agent documented. “After the woman departed, the relative inspected the gift bag and found a significant amount of cash inside.”
Upon returning home, the juror contacted the police and turned over the bag, containing stacks of $100, $50, and $20 bills totaling about $120,000.
The woman who delivered the bag was acquainted with the juror’s first name, the agent stated. While the jurors’ names have not been disclosed, those with access to them included prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the seven defendants.
Following the reporting of the bribery attempt, the judge mandated that all seven defendants surrender their cellphones for investigation. Additionally, the judge ordered the defendants into custody and sequestered the jury. Another juror who became aware of the bribery was also dismissed.
According to the indictment, the five individuals targeted Juror 52 due to her being the youngest and the only juror of color. They conducted extensive research on her address and personal details from social media. They monitored the woman and observed her daily routine, including tracking her movements and even purchasing a GPS tracking device to place on her car.
The group also devised a plan for the juror, providing guidelines on influencing her fellow jurors. These arguments centered on the juror’s identity and insinuated racial bias on the part of the prosecutors: “(w)e are immigrants, they don’t respect us,” read the proposed arguments.
Ali is accused of being the individual who delivered the bribe to the juror’s residence. Luger stated that she was recruited by Nur and traveled from Seattle to execute the scheme.
Seventy individuals have been charged in federal court for their roles in the fraud scheme linked to the pandemic, which prosecutors claim revolved around a non-profit organization called Feeding Our Future. In addition to the five convictions in early June, eighteen other defendants have pleaded guilty. Trials are pending for the remaining defendants.
Federal prosecutors assert that the conspiracy exploited relaxed regulations to prevent an economic downturn during the pandemic. The FBI initiated an investigation into the matter in the spring of 2021. The defendants allegedly submitted invoices for meals that were never provided, engaged in money laundering through shell companies, committed passport fraud, and accepted kickbacks.
The funds originated from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and were overseen by the state, which allocated the funds through partners including Feeding Our Future. An investigation by the Minnesota Legislature revealed that the state education department failed to properly monitor the federal program, enabling the theft to occur.
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