Charges announced for alleged $120,000 bribe attempt during pandemic relief fraud trial

Five people have been indicted in connection with an alleged plot to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash during a federal pandemic relief fraud trial.

Federal prosecutors called the incident an “elaborate” and “scary,” but ultimately foiled, plan to infiltrate the jury.

The alleged bribery attempt was reported as the six-week trial in Minneapolis concluded against seven people charged in connection with an alleged $250 million fraud scheme through the nonprofit of Minnesota, Feeding Our Future.

One of the anonymous jurors – identified as Juror 52 – told police that an unknown woman left $120,000 in cash at his home on the night of June 2 as part of a bribe attempt. wine aimed at acquitting the defendants, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. The woman handed a gift bag to a relative of the juror, who was not home at the time, and promised more money if the juror returned a not guilty verdict, according to court documents. The juror reported the incident to local authorities, who turned over the money to the FBI, Luger said.

The alleged bribe was announced in court the next day, and the seven defendants on trial — all of whom allegedly had access to Juror 52's identifying information — were ordered to turn over their cellphones, according to court documents.

“The news shocked everyone in this case and everyone who works in our criminal justice system,” Luger said during a press briefing Wednesday announcing the corruption charges. “Bribing a jury through intimidation or bribery is a serious federal crime punishable by a substantial prison sentence.”

Juror 52 was dismissed on June 3, and as deliberations began, a second juror was dismissed on June 4 after apparently learning of the alleged bribe attempt by a member of the jury. family, according to Twin Cities ABC affiliate KSTP.

Federal agents began investigating the alleged bribery attempt to determine the identities of the co-conspirators and how Juror 52's identity and address were revealed.

Abdiaziz Farah, a defendant in the trial who was ultimately convicted, allegedly masterminded the plot, Luger said. He deleted everything from his phone in court on June 3 before turning it over to authorities, Luger said. A list of jurors' names — which were known only to the court — was found in his home, hidden in a water bottle during the execution of a search warrant on June 5, Luger said. A bag containing the fingerprints of Ladan Ali, of Seattle, was also found at his home, according to Luger.

Ali was eventually identified as the woman who showed up at Juror 52's home, according to Luger. She arrived in Minneapolis on May 30 and allegedly followed Juror 52 home from the courthouse on May 31 in a rental car, according to Luger. She allegedly agreed to hand over the bribe money in exchange for $150,000, according to the indictment.

Ali was allegedly recruited into the jury bribery scheme by Abdimajid Nur, a defendant in the trial who was also ultimately convicted, according to Luger. A so-called plan telling Juror 52 how to obtain an acquittal was allegedly found on his phone, Luger said.

The $120,000 in cash was allegedly provided by Said Farah, another defendant in the trial who was eventually acquitted. He allegedly deleted a video from his phone of Ali delivering the bribe to Juror 52's home, Luger said.

Abdulkarim Farah, the brother of Abdiaziz Farah and Said Farah, allegedly helped Ali the night the bribes were delivered and took the video of her at the juror's home, according to Luger. The indictment alleges he also removed the license plates from Ali's rental car before the bribe attempt.

All five defendants were charged with conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror, and corrupt influence on a juror. Abdiaziz Farah was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly deleting content from his phone via a factory reset, Luger said.

ABC News contacted the attorneys who represented Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah and Nur during the trial. It is unclear whether Ali and Abdulkarim Farah have an attorney who can speak on their behalf.

“These defendants have engaged in a chilling attack on our justice system,” Luger said. “They were seeking to bribe a juror and use her to infiltrate the jury with their own false arguments – arguments that had nothing to do with the evidence or the law.”

The indictment alleges that the conspirators searched Juror 52's personal information online and on social media and monitored her to confirm her home address and obtain information about her daily habits. They allegedly targeted Juror 52 because she is young and would be the only juror of color.

The juror's plan would have advised Juror 52 to argue to other jurors that the government had targeted the defendants because they were immigrants and was “prejudiced against people of color,” according to the writ. charge. He was also allegedly asked to vote “NOT GUILTY ON ALL ACCOUNTS FOR ALL DEFENDANTS,” according to the indictment.

“Luckily for all of us, Juror 52 could not be purchased and she ended their project,” Luger said.

The defendants will begin making initial appearances Wednesday afternoon, the Justice Department said.

Luger said he believes this case is the first time certain juror bribery charges have been filed in Minnesota.

The federal trial in which the bribe was reported marked the first in the sprawling Feeding Our Future fraud case. Dozens of defendants are accused of tapping funds from a federal child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic to buy big-ticket items like luxury cars and homes.

The jury returned its verdict against the seven defendants on June 7, convicting five and acquitting two.

Abdiaziz Farah was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, federal program bribery and other charges. He was the owner and operator of Empire Cuisine and Market, a for-profit restaurant that was one of several entities that participated in the scam by receiving more than $28 million in fraudulent funds from the Federal Child Nutrition Program, a said the Ministry of Justice.

Nur was convicted of receiving and laundering federal Child Nutrition Program funds from Empire Cuisine and Market and other entities involved in the program, the Justice Department said.

Said Farah, accused of fraudulently receiving approximately $4.5 million in federal nutrition program funds, has been acquitted of all charges.

A total of seventy defendants were charged in the Feeding Our Future case, 18 of whom pleaded guilty, according to the DOJ.