Feeding Our Future Minneapolis Fraud Trial Bribe
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Bribery Attempt Disrupts $40 Million Fraud Trial Amid COVID-19 Scam Allegations
In a shocking turn of events, deliberations in a $40 million fraud trial have been disrupted by an attempted bribe. A juror received a gift bag containing around $120,000 in cash and alerted the police, leading to the dismissal of the juror and a delay in the proceedings. The FBI is now investigating to identify the person who offered the bribe and determine if any of the defendants were involved.
The trial involves seven Minnesotans who are accused of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to steal more than $40 million intended to feed children. The jury deliberated for a second day on Wednesday, but the significant event of the bag containing $120,000 in cash being left for a juror has thrown a wrench in the process. All seven defendants have been taken into custody and their cellphones have been confiscated for investigation.
The juror who received the bag, along with another juror who reported hearing about the bribe attempt, were dismissed. Anyone involved in the attempted bribe could face federal charges of bribery of a juror and influencing a juror, with a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison.
This case is one of the largest COVID-19-related fraud cases in the nation, with an overall conspiracy diverting $250 million in federal funds. The central organization in this scheme was a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. It’s alleged that only a fraction of the money went to feed low-income kids, with the rest being spent on luxury cars, jewelry, travel, and property. Federal authorities have recovered about $50 million so far.
As of now, the jury continues to deliberate while the FBI tries to figure out who the mystery woman is. The judge decided to sequester the jury for the rest of the proceeding as a precaution. – Posted 06/05/2024, check back for updates
Update: Guilty Verdicts and Acquittals in Landmark Pandemic Relief Fraud Case
On Friday, June 7, 2024, a jury in Minnesota delivered a mix of verdicts in what is being called the nation’s largest pandemic relief fraud case. Out of the seven defendants on trial, five were found guilty, and two were acquitted. The defendants were part of a scheme that falsely claimed to have served 18 million meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, for which they collected $47 million in taxpayer money. The defendants only spent a few million dollars on food, and spent the rest on real estate, vehicles, and travel.
The guilty defendants, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, and Hayat Mohamed Nur, faced a total of 41 charges, including wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering. The jury found that they had taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the state of Minnesota and to steal tens of millions of dollars. As Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson put it, “The defendants cooked the books, faked documents, and lied about feeding millions of meals to children in Minnesota.”
In a twist that could have come straight from a John Grisham novel, one juror reported that a woman had tried to bribe her with $120,000 in cash, promising more if she voted to acquit. The FBI is currently investigating this attempted bribery.
The defendants found guilty now face the prospect of spending some time behind bars, where the only “feeding” they’ll be doing is likely to be at the prison cafeteria. Meanwhile, the two acquitted defendants, Said Shafii Farah and Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, are probably just glad to be out of the courtroom and back to their regular, non-fraudulent lives.
This was the first trial related to the Feeding Our Future case, with 18 other defendants already pleading guilty. The founder of Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, maintains her innocence and awaits trial. The verdict is sure to affect the 44 others awaiting trial in what is being called the nation’s largest pandemic relief fraud case. – Posted 06/07/2024, check back for updates
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