MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Attorney Andy Luger announced charges against five people he says were involved in the attempted $120,000 bribe of a juror in the recent trial involving multiple defendants in the "Feeding our Future" federal child meal program fraud case.
The suspects include three defendants from the trial: Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Nur, along with Laden Mohammed Ali. Luger met with reporters at a press conference Wednesday to detail the alleged plot. The indictment charges all five defendants with conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror, and corruptly influencing a juror.
Abdiaziz Farah was also charged with obstruction of justice.
"This is more than just a mob movie - it is an attack on our system of justice," Luger said.
Among the allegations in the charges:
- Laden Mohammed Ali flew into the Twin Cities from her home in Seattle on May 30 and attempted to surveil and follow juror 52, who was targeted by conspirators as they believed she was the youngest member of the panel and the only person of color. Prosecutors say on June 2 Ali met with defendant Nur, collected $120,000, put it in a bag and was driven to the home of juror 52. Luger told reporters Abdulkarim Farah remained in the car and videotaped Ali dropping off the bribe money at Juror 52’s house. Abdulkarim Farah then reportedly sent the video to his co-conspirators using an encrypted messaging app.
- Luger called Abdiaziz Shafii Farah the organizer of the conspiracy, telling reporters a list of jurors was found in a water bottle inside his home.
- Investigators found what Luger called "an acquittal manual" on the phone of defendant Abdimajid Mohamed Nur. The document contained instructions for juror 52 on arguments she should make in the jury room to acquit all defendants on all counts, including one accusing the U.S. government of racism and bias in pursuing criminal charges against immigrants.
Luger says the instruction manual ended with this ultimatum: "You must hold fast... not guilty on all counts. You alone can end this case."
"A well-thought-out plan to corrupt our system and undermine the rule of law," Luger reflected after outlining the alleged conspiracy.
Said Farah is one of two defendants (seven were on trial) whom the jury fully acquitted in its mixed verdict. He walked out of the federal courthouse with his attorney Steve Schleicher on June 7 as a free man but now will be taken back into custody.
Reports of an attempted bribe targeting a juror on June 2 - the day before deliberations were set to begin - cast a long shadow over the trial.
According to a search warrant that followed the reported bribe attempt, a Somali woman dropped a bag containing $120,000 cash at the doorstep of a female juror's home in Spring Lake Park. A juror's family member answered the door, and later told police the woman with the money told him there would be more money coming after the juror voted "not guilty."
The seven defendants on trial were all taken into custody on June 3, when prosecutors revealed developments surrounding the attempted bribe in court. Judge Nancy Brasel also ordered their cell phones to be seized.
Luger said Wednesday that the phones were key to the investigation, as FBI specialists went through them and undercover key evidence, even though the defendants tried to delete that data.
Over the following weeks, FBI agents raided the homes of three defendants, including Abdiaziz Farah - whom prosecutors called the "ringleader" of this particular group during the trial.
The jury delivered a verdict convicting five defendants on most counts, but the panel fully acquitted Abdiaziz Farah's brothers Said Farah and Abdiwahab Aftin.
Court filings by a different defendant revealed that during the jury selection process of the trial, two juror information lists were not returned to the judge. Those lists included information on each juror such as name, age, and city where they live.
Prosecutors have charged a total of 70 people associated with an organization known as "Feeding Our Future" who are accused of bilking the federal government out of $250 million intended to feed underserved children when schools were shut down by COVID in 2020 and 2021. Instead, the government alleges, the defendants lied about the number of meals they distributed, instead collecting millions to buy luxury vehicles, homes and exotic vacations, among other things.
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