Five individuals, including Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, have been charged with offering a $120,000 (£94,000) cash bribe to a juror in an attempt to obstruct justice during a US pandemic fraud trial. The 23-year-old unnamed juror reported receiving a gift bag filled with cash in the final days of the federal trial in Minneapolis.
“This is stuff that happens in mob movies,” stated Assistant US Attorney Joseph Thompson, commenting on the alleged bribery scheme.
Prosecutors have charged a total of 70 individuals for stealing $250 million from federal food programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those charged with bribery are three individuals who had previously stood trial for submitting fraudulent claims involving fictitious children and creating false documentation to embezzle funds.
In addition to Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, the others charged include Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, and Ladan Mohamed Ali. They face serious charges including conspiracy to bribe a juror and corruptly influencing a juror.
US Attorney Andrew Luger described the alleged bribery attempt as a “chilling attack on our justice system” and expressed gratitude that the juror “could not be bought.” The group reportedly targeted the juror because she was the youngest member of the panel and believed to be the only juror of color.
The juror was involved in a case concerning the embezzlement of over $40 million from Feeding Our Future, a now-defunct charity that received funds from a federal food-aid program designed to assist hungry children. Earlier in the month, the jury convicted five defendants in the embezzlement case while acquitting two others.
According to Luger, the accused had devised a plan to persuade the juror to argue that the prosecutors were racist, thereby influencing the jury’s decision to acquit them. Additionally, Ladan Mohamed Ali, who was not part of the original plot, traveled from Seattle to Minneapolis and allegedly tracked the juror’s movements before approaching her.
On June 2, she and another defendant reportedly visited the juror’s home, delivering cash to a family member and promising further payment if the juror could secure a not-guilty verdict. Bribing a juror is a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. This case marks the first criminal charge for attempting to bribe a federal juror in Minnesota, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.