Feds charge 5, including a man acquitted at trial, with trying to bribe a Minnesota juror with $120,000

MINNEAPOLIS – Five people were charged Wednesday with trying to bribe a juror in one of the largest in the country Cases of COVID-19-related fraud involving a bag of $120,000 in cash, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI announced Wednesday.

The bribery attempt, which U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger called a “scary attack on our justice system,” brought renewed attention to the trial of seven Minnesota defendants accused of coordinating the theft of more than $40 million from a federal program that was supposed to feed children during the coronavirus pandemic. In total, more than $250 million in federal funds was taken and only about $50 million was recovered, authorities say.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali are each charged with one count of conspiracy to bribe a juror, one count of bribing a juror and one count of corruptly influencing a juror , according to court records.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah is also accused of obstruction of justice.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Mohamed Nur were among the five convicted in the trial earlier this month, while Said Shafii Farah was acquitted. Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali were not involved in the trial.

At least three were expected to appear in court for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.

According to an FBI agent’s testimony, a woman rang the doorbell at the home of “Juror #52” in the Minneapolis suburb of Spring Lake Park the night before the case was due to go to the jury. A relative answered the door and received a gift bag with a curly ribbon and pictures of flowers and butterflies. The woman said she was a “gift” for the juror.

“The woman told the relative to tell Juror #52 to plead not guilty tomorrow and there would be more of that present tomorrow,” the agent wrote. “After the woman left, the relative looked in the gift bag and saw that it contained a substantial amount of money.”

The juror called police shortly after arriving home and handed them the bag, which contained stacks of $100, $50 and $20 bills totaling about $120,000.

The woman who dropped off the bag knew the juror’s first name, the agent said. The jurors’ names were not released, but the list of people with access to them included prosecutors, defense attorneys — and the seven defendants.

After the juror reported the bribery attempt, the judge ordered all seven defendants to hand over their cellphones so investigators could look for evidence. A second juror who was informed about the bribery was also dismissed. The FBI investigated the bribery attempt for weeks, raiding the homes of several of the defendants. A federal judge also ordered all seven arrested and sequestered the jury.

Seventy people have been charged in federal court for their alleged roles in the pandemic-related fraud scheme that prosecutors say is centered on a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. In addition to the five convictions at the beginning of June, another eighteen defendants have already pleaded guilty. Trials are still pending for the others.

Federal Public Ministry claims that the conspiracy Exploited rules that were kept lax so that the economy would not collapse during the pandemic. The FBI began investigating the matter in spring 2021. The defendants allegedly submitted invoices for meals never served, ran shell companies, laundered money, indulged in passport fraud and accepted bribes.

The money came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was administered by the state, which funneled the funds through partners including Feeding Our Future. The Minnesota Legislature guard dog arm found that the state education department inadequately supervised the federal program, which opened the door for theft.