MINNEAPOLIS — In a joint motion for change of venue for six defendants in the nation's largest pandemic fraud case, an attorney claims the accused can no longer receive a fair trial in Minnesota because of press conferences held by the U.S. Attorney, the media coverage that followed, and the public's reaction to reading the stories.
Attorney Steve Schleicher, known for prosecuting Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd and who once prosecuted cases under Andy Luger at the U.S. Attorney's office, represents Said Shafii Farah -- one of 60 people now charged in the scheme that Luger said resulted in the theft of $250 million dollars in federal child nutrition program funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schleicher writes that at Luger's initial press conference announcing the indictments, Luger "made sweeping claims about all of the defendants charged -- many of which were simply not accurate with respect to these defendants."
In addition, Schleicher claims Luger displayed private grand jury materials during the press conference.
The motion also cites press coverage for a reason to move the trial out of Minnesota, "including articles such as the creatively titled 'Crook Bastard Nonprofits Took Pandemic Money, Put Fraud on Minnesota Food Programs, Allegedly.'"
Beyond the news coverage itself -- Schleicher notes the comments that often accompany online articles.
"Many public comments to those articles contain shocking and racist comments directed at the defendants. For example, in response to an article published on March 13, 2022, commenters posted over a hundred racist comments, including that 'the element of grifting [is] a virtue in Somali culture,' “black lies matter” and “[c]an I hear a call for a stoning followed by a garroting?'" Schleicher wrote in his motion.
Noting convenient flights and lodging options, and the capacity to take on additional cases, the motion suggests moving the trial to the Northern District of Illinois. That district's largest courthouse is in Chicago.
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