In a case that prosecutors are calling “something out of a mob movie” five individuals have been charged with attempting to bribe a juror in one of the largest pandemic aid fraud trials in the United States.
The individuals involved tried to offer $120,000 in cash to this jury member to sway the verdict of a case that involved the theft of over $250 million in federal funds that should have been received by children during the COVID-19 health crisis.
How It Started: Stranger Rings on Doorbell to Hand Over a Cash Bag
On the evening of June 2, 2023, a woman pressed the doorbell at a house in the Minneapolis suburb of Spring Lake Park. When a family member opened the door, she gave them a gift bag decorated with a curly ribbon and pictures of flowers and butterflies, calling it a “present” for Juror #52.
According to an FBI affidavit, the woman instructed the relative to tell the juror “to say not guilty tomorrow and there would be more of that present tomorrow.” “After the woman left, the relative looked in the gift bag and saw it contained a substantial amount of cash.”
The bag contained $120,000 stacked in bills of $100, $50, and $20 and was immediately considered an attempt to bribe.
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The 23-year-old juror, who has not been publicly identified, immediately called the police upon returning home and turned over the bag of cash. This set off a three-week investigation by federal authorities to uncover who was behind the bribery attempt.
US Attorney Andrew Luger praised the juror’s actions at a news conference, stating: “She made a difference.”
Details on the Five Defendants and The Charges They Face
On June 26, 2023, federal prosecutors announced charges against five individuals for their alleged roles in the bribery scheme: Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, and Ladan Mohamed Ali.
All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror, and corruptly influencing a juror. Additionally, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah faces an obstruction of justice charge for allegedly deleting evidence from his phone.
Three of the defendants – Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, and Said Shafii Farah – were among the seven individuals on trial for their alleged roles in the massive fraud scheme involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
Abdiaziz Farah and Nur were ultimately convicted while Said Farah was acquitted. The other two defendants, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali, were not involved in the original fraud case but were allegedly recruited to assist with the bribery plot.
The Conspirators Followed and Spied on the Juror for Days
Prosecutors have outlined an intricate plan that the defendants allegedly devised to influence the jury’s decision. According to US Attorney Andrew Luger, the group specifically targeted the 23-year-old juror because she was the youngest on the panel and they believed her to be the only juror of color.
The conspirators reportedly studied the juror, followed her movements, and determined that she would be susceptible to their scheme.
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Court documents show that the accused made significant efforts to collect information about the juror. They looked up her personal details on social media, watched her to verify her home address, monitored her daily routines, and even bought a GPS device to install on her car. However, the evidence indicates that it arrived too late to be effective.
Perhaps most disturbing, prosecutors say that the conspirators drafted a list of arguments that the juror could use to persuade other jurors to vote for acquittal. This “blueprint” allegedly included instructions to claim that prosecutors were motivated by racial bias against immigrants. According to Luger, the instruction manual included statements such as: “We are immigrants. They don’t respect or care about us. You alone can end this case.”
On June 2, Ladan Mohamed Ali, who had flown in from Seattle, allegedly delivered the gift bag containing $120,000 to the juror’s home. Abdulkarim Shafii Farah is accused of helping Ali conduct surveillance and assisting on the night of the delivery.
Fraud Trial Proceeded and Five Out of Seven Defendants Were Found Guilty
Naturally, after the juror reported the bribery attempt, she was dismissed from the case before the deliberations began. The judge ordered all seven defendants in the fraud trial to surrender their cellphones so investigators could search for evidence.
A second juror who was informed about the bribe attempt was also dismissed. The FBI launched an intensive investigation, raiding the homes of several defendants. The judge ordered that all seven fraud defendants be taken into custody, and the remaining jury was sequestered.
Despite the disruption caused by the bribery attempt, the fraud trial proceeded. In early June, the jury found five of the seven defendants guilty.
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Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson called the bribery incident “an attack” on the country’s criminal justice system and mentioned that the incident was “nearly unprecedented”.
“It is no overstatement to say that it really has shook our legal community and called into question the way we conduct jury trials in this district moving forward.”
Feeding Our Future – A Non-Profit That Took Advantage of COVID Aid
The bribery attempt has brought renewed attention to the massive fraud scheme that was at the center of the original trial. Prosecutors allege that the defendants were part of a conspiracy that exploited a federal assistance program that was designed to help Americans during the pandemic to steal more than $250 million.
In total, 70 people have been charged in federal court for their alleged roles in the scheme. To date, only about $50 million has been recovered. The seven defendants in the recent trial were accused of stealing more than $40 million.
Prosecutors say that the conspirators produced invoices for meals that were never served, ran shell companies, laundered money, engaged in passport fraud, and accepted kickbacks. A report by the Minnesota Legislature’s watchdog arm found that the state education department provided inadequate oversight of the federal program and left the door open for this kind of crime to take place.
Unfortunately, this kind of scheme was rather common as the many programs set to help those suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic prioritized helping as many people as possible quickly and had too little oversight.
If convicted, the defendants in the bribery case face up to 10 years in prison for each charge. The bribery of a juror is considered a felony under federal law.
He compared the Minnesota defendants to John Gotti, the mob boss who bribed a juror in 1987 to be acquitted.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, this is the state’s first criminal case involving an attempt to bribe a federal juror.
US Magistrate Judge Tony Leung ordered that Said Shafii Farah and Abdulkarim Shafii Farah be detained before trial, citing the serious nature of the alleged crimes. Leung stated: “In my decades on the bench, I’ve not experienced an attempt at bribing a juror in such a precalculated and organized and executed way. That to me goes to the heart of an attack on our judicial system, on the rule of law.”
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Federal authorities continue to investigate the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, working to recover the remaining stolen funds and potentially bring additional charges against other individuals involved.
The alleged attempt to bribe a juror in this high-profile fraud case has shocked the legal community and refocused the public’s attention to one of the largest pandemic-related fraud schemes in US history.
As the legal process unfolds for both the bribery and fraud cases, the implications for Minnesota’s justice system and the oversight of federal aid programs will likely be felt in years to come.