Feds charge five with attempting to bribe juror with $120K in COVID aid fraud case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — 5 individuals had been charged on Wednesday with making an attempt to bribe a juror in one of many nation’s largest COVID-19-related fraud instances with a bag of $120,000 in money, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace and the FBI introduced Wednesday.

The bribe try, which U.S. Lawyer Andrew Luger referred to as a “chilling assault on our justice system,” introduced renewed consideration to the trial of seven Minnesota defendants accused of coordinating to steal greater than $40 million from a federal program that was speculated to feed youngsters throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Greater than $250 million in federal funds had been taken total and solely about $50 million has been recovered, authorities say.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mentioned Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali are every charged with one rely of conspiracy to bribe a juror, one rely of bribery of a juror and one rely of corruptly influencing a juror, in response to court docket information.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah can also be charged with one rely of obstruction of justice.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Mohamed Nur had been amongst 5 convicted within the trial earlier this month whereas Mentioned Shafii Farah was acquitted. Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali weren’t concerned within the trial.

A minimum of three had been anticipated to make their first court docket appearances Wednesday afternoon.

Based on an FBI agent’s affidavit, a lady rang the doorbell on the house of “Juror #52” within the Minneapolis suburb of Spring Lake Park the night time earlier than the case went to the jury. A relative answered the door and was handed a present bag with a curly ribbon and pictures of flowers and butterflies. The lady stated it was a “current” for the juror.

“The lady advised the relative to inform Juror #52 to say not responsible tomorrow and there could be extra of that current tomorrow,” the agent wrote. “After the lady left, the relative appeared within the reward bag and noticed it contained a considerable amount of money.”

The juror referred to as police proper after she bought house and gave them the bag, which held stacks of $100, $50 and $20 payments totaling round $120,000.

The lady who left the bag knew the juror’s first title, the agent stated. Names of the jurors haven’t been made public, however the record of individuals with entry to it included prosecutors, protection attorneys — and the seven defendants.

After the juror reported the bribe try, the choose ordered all seven defendants to give up their cellphones in order that investigators may search for proof. A second juror who was advised in regards to the bribe additionally was dismissed. The FBI investigated the tried bribe for weeks, raiding the properties of a number of of the defendants’ properties. A federal choose additionally ordered all seven taken into custody and sequestered the jury.

Seventy individuals have been charged in federal court docket for his or her alleged roles within the pandemic-related fraud scheme that prosecutors say centered on a nonprofit referred to as Feeding Our Future. Along with the 5 convictions in early June, eighteen different defendants have already pleaded responsible. Trials are nonetheless pending for the others.

Federal prosecutors say the conspiracy exploited guidelines that had been saved lax so the financial system wouldn’t crash throughout the pandemic. The FBI started digging into it within the spring of 2021. The defendants allegedly produced invoices for meals by no means served, ran shell firms, laundered cash, indulged in passport fraud and accepted kickbacks.

The cash got here from the U.S. Division of Agriculture and was administered by the state, which funneled the funds via companions together with Feeding Our Future. The Minnesota Legislature’s watchdog arm discovered that the state training division offered insufficient oversight of the federal program, which opened the door to the theft.