SEPTEMBER 6, 2024:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Seattle woman pleaded guilty Thursday (Sept. 5, 2024) to attempting to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for an acquittal in one of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud cases.
Ladan Mohamed Ali, 31, dropped off a cash bribe in a plan that involved tracking a juror to her home and promising more money if the woman agreed to return a not guilty verdict in the fraud case. Ali is one of five people charged in the attempted bribery of the juror, a scheme prosecutors have described as “something out of a mob movie.” Officials have also said rare attempts to bribe jurors threaten foundational aspects of the judicial system.
Ali wiped away tears while answering questions from prosecutors before U.S. District Judge David Doty. She said was pleading guilty because she “wanted to take responsibility for my actions.” Ali’s attorney, Eric Newmark, did not immediately return a call seeking an additional comment.
Court documents revealed an extravagant scheme in which Ali and her co-defendants are accused of researching the juror’s personal information on social media, surveilling her, tracking her daily habits and buying a GPS device to install on her car.
The four others charged with crimes related to the bribe are Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Mohamed Nur. Nur, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a juror in July. The other three defendants have pleaded not guilty.
The group hatched the bribery plan in mid-May, records show.
Nur admitted to recruiting Ali, who delivered the bribe money to the juror’s home. She flew from Seattle to Minneapolis in May to meet with Nur and allegedly agreed to deliver the bribe money later that month to the home of “Juror #52” in exchange for $150,000, prosecutors said.
In new details revealed in federal court Thursday, prosecutors said Ali was concerned the plan would fail and that she would not get paid. So Ali came up with a separate plan to steal some or all of the bribe money.
Ali lied to Nur and said she had approached the juror at a bar, according to prosecutors. Ali claimed the juror wanted $500,000 in exchange for returning a not guilty verdict, and that the juror had instructed her to deliver the money when she’d be home alone. In reality, Ali had never spoken to the juror, prosecutors said.
On June 2, Abdiaziz Farah instructed Nur to meet at Said Farah’s business to pick up the bribe money, court records say. When Nur arrived at the business, Said Farah gave him a cardboard box containing the money. Nur gave the money to Ali after picking her up in a parking lot later in the day. Hours later, Ali and Abdulkarim Farah drove to a Target store and purchased a screwdriver, which they used to remove the license plates from Ali’s rental car before driving to the juror’s home.
Ali knew Abdulkarim Farah had planned to follow her and film the encounter at the juror’s home, but when he insisted on driving Ali rather than taking separate cars, she abandoned her separate plan to steal all of the bribe money.
Nur had given Ali $200,000 in cash, all of which was intended to be used to bribe the juror. Ali knocked on the juror’s door and was greeted by a relative. Ali handed the gift bag to her and explained there would be more money if the juror voted to acquit. But Ali only delivered $120,000 and kept the remaining $80,000 for herself.
The juror called the police, setting off an an FBI investigation that led to the group’s arrest. Authorities believe the defendants targeted the woman, known as “Juror #52,” because she was the youngest and they believed she might be sympathetic to the defendant, as the only person of color on the panel.
Five of the seven people charged in the pandemic fraud trial were later convicted. The defendants in that case were accused of coordinating to steal more than $40 million from a federal program that was supposed to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $250 million in federal funds were taken overall in the scheme, and only about $50 million has been recovered, authorities say.
Abdiaziz Farah and Abdimajid Nur were among five people convicted in the pandemic fraud trial in June while Said Farah and another person were acquitted. Abdulkarim Farah and Ali were not involved in the original fraud case.
Ali will be sentenced at a later date.
JUNE 27, 2024:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Five people were charged Wednesday (June 26, 2024) with conspiring to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for the acquittal of defendants in one of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced Wednesday.
Court documents made public reveal an extravagant scheme in which the accused researched the juror’s personal information on social media, surveilled her, tracked her daily habits and bought a GPS device to install on her car. Authorities believe the defendants targeted the woman, known as “Juror 52,” because she was the youngest and they believed her to be the only person of color on the panel.
According to court documents, the group came up with a “blueprint” of arguments for the juror to help persuade other jurors to acquit, injecting the idea that prosecutors were motivated by racial animus: “(w)e are immigrants, they don’t respect us,” the list of proposed arguments read.
The juror reported the bribery attempt and was removed from the case before deliberations began.
The bribe attempt brought renewed attention to the trial of seven Minnesota defendants accused of coordinating to steal more than $40 million from a federal program that was supposed to feed children during the coronavirus pandemic. More than $250 million in federal funds were taken overall in the scheme and only about $50 million has been recovered, authorities say.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali are each charged with one count of conspiracy to bribe a juror, one count of bribery of a juror and one count of corruptly influencing a juror, according to the indictment.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah is also charged with one count of obstruction of justice.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah and Abdimajid Mohamed Nur were among five convicted in the fraud trial earlier this month while Said Shafii Farah was acquitted. Abdulkarim Shafii Farah and Ladan Mohamed Ali were not involved.
JUNE 13, 2024:
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JUNE 7, 2024:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury reached a verdict Friday (June 7, 2024) in the case against seven Minnesota residents accused in a scheme to steal more than $40 million that was supposed to feed children during the pandemic. The case has received widespread attention after someone tried to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel dismissed that juror before deliberations began, as well as another juror who was told about the bribe attempt. An FBI investigation of the attempted bribe continues, with no arrests announced.
Defense attorneys argued that the defendants provided real meals to real people.
Jurors, prosecutors, defendants and the judge are convening in court to hear the jury’s decision.
JUNE 6, 2024:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury has ended a second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the trial of seven Minnesotans accused of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to steal more than $40 million meant to feed children. Attention has focused on the case after someone tried to bribe a juror with a gift bag holding $120,000 in cash. The FBI confiscated the defendants’ cellphones to look for clues and took all seven into custody as the trial ended. A neighbor of one of the defendants also saw FBI agents raid the man’s home Wednesday (June 5, 2024). The juror who reported the bribe attempt was dismissed, along with another who learned about it. These are the first of 70 defendants to be tried in what federal prosecutors describe as one of the nation’s largest COVID-19-related fraud cases.
JUNE 4, 2024:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities in Minnesota have confiscated cellphones and taken all seven defendants into custody as investigators try to determine who attempted to bribe a juror with a bag of cash containing $120,000 to get her to acquit them on charges of stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic. The case went to the jury late Monday afternoon (June 3, 2024), after the 23-year-old juror, who promptly reported the attempted bribe to police, was dismissed and replaced with an alternate. A second juror was replaced Tuesday morning after a family member mentioned the bribe attempt. The seven defendants are the first of 70 expected to be tried in a conspiracy that cost taxpayers $250 million. It is one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases.
JUNE 3, 2024:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A juror was dismissed from a multimillion-dollar fraud trial on Monday (June 3, 2024) after reporting that a woman dropped a bag of $120,000 cash at her home over the weekend. She said the woman left it with a message saying she would get still more money if she voted to acquit seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic. These seven are the first of 70 defendants expected to be tried in a conspiracy that cost taxpayers $250 million. It’s one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. Prosecutor Joseph Thompson said the bag of cash seems like “stuff that happens in mob movies.”
APRIL 29, 2024:
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MARCH 14, 2023:
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SEPTEMBER 27, 2022:
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republicans have attacked Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, after a judge took the rare public step of disputing the administration’s claim that the judge prevented it from cutting off payments to Feeding Our Future. The nonprofit is the target of a $250 million federal fraud case. The GOP candidates for Minnesota governor, attorney general and state auditor said Monday (Sept. 26, 2022) that Walz and other top Democrats should have done more to stop the alleged fraud in its early stages, before it became what federal prosecutors have called the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme in the country.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2022:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities have charged 48 people in what they’re calling the largest fraud scheme yet to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by stealing and defrauding the government of $250 million. Documents made public Tuesday (Sept. 20, 2022) charge the defendants with counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to thousands of low-income children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement through a federal program. But prosecutors say few meals were actually served, and the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewelry. This year, the U.S. Justice Department has made prosecuting pandemic-related fraud a priority and has stepped up enforcement actions.
Extended version:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — United States authorities charged 48 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme yet, stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children.
Federal prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food nutrition programs. Prosecutors say few meals were actually served, and the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewelry.
“This $250 million is the floor,” Andy Luger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said at a news conference. “Our investigation continues.”
Many of the companies that claimed to be serving food were sponsored by a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which submitted the companies’ claims for reimbursement. Feeding Our Future’s founder and executive director, Aimee Bock, was among those indicted, and authorities say she and others in her organization submitted the fraudulent claims for reimbursement and received kickbacks.
Bock’s attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, said the indictment “doesn’t indicate guilt or innocence.” He said he wouldn’t comment further until seeing the indictment.
In interviews after law enforcement searched multiple sites in January, including Bock’s home and offices, Bock denied stealing money and said she never saw evidence of fraud.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice made prosecuting pandemic-related fraud a priority. The department has already taken enforcement actions related to more than $8 billion in suspected pandemic fraud, including bringing charges in more than 1,000 criminal cases involving losses in excess of $1.1 billion.
Federal officials repeatedly described the alleged fraud as “brazen,” and decried that it involved a program intended to feed children who needed help during the pandemic. Michael Paul, special agent in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office, called it “an astonishing display of deceit.”
Luger said the government was billed for more than 125 million fake meals, with some defendants making up names for children by using an online random name generator. He displayed one form for reimbursement that claimed a site served exactly 2,500 meals each day Monday through Friday — with no children ever getting sick or otherwise missing from the program.
“These children were simply invented,” Luger said.
He said the government has so far recovered $50 million in money and property and expects to recover more.
The defendants in Minnesota face multiple counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Luger said some of them were arrested Tuesday morning. Authorities announced 47 indictments at the news conference. A 48th person, who according to a criminal complaint was scheduled to board a one-way flight to Ethiopia on Tuesday evening, was arrested sometime after the prosecutors’ press conference.
According to court documents, the alleged scheme targeted the USDA’s federal child nutrition programs, which provide food to low-income children and adults. In Minnesota, the funds are administered by the state Department of Education, and meals have historically been provided to kids through educational programs, such as schools or day care centers.
The sites that serve the food are sponsored by public or nonprofit groups, such as Feeding Our Future. The sponsoring agency keeps 10% to 15% of the reimbursement funds as an administrative fee in exchange for submitting claims, sponsoring the sites and disbursing the funds.
But during the pandemic, some of the standard requirements for sites to participate in the federal food nutrition programs were waived. The USDA allowed for-profit restaurants to participate, and allowed food to be distributed outside educational programs. The charging documents say the defendants exploited such changes “to enrich themselves.”
The documents say Bock oversaw the scheme and that she and Feeding Our Future sponsored the opening of nearly 200 federal child nutrition program sites throughout the state, knowing that the sites intended to submit fraudulent claims.
“The sites fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed and despite having few, if any staff and little to no experience serving this volume of meals,” according to the indictments.
One example described a small storefront restaurant in Willmar, in west-central Minnesota, that typically served only a few dozen people a day. Two defendants offered the owner $40,000 a month to use his restaurant, then billed the government for some 1.6 million meals through 11 months of 2021, according to one indictment. They listed the names of around 2,000 children — nearly half of the local school district’s total enrollment — and only 33 names matched actual students, the indictment said.
Feeding Our Future received nearly $18 million in federal child nutrition program funds as administrative fees in 2021 alone, and Bock and other employees received additional kickbacks, which were often disguised as “consulting fees” paid to shell companies, the charging documents said.
According to an FBI affidavit unsealed earlier this year, Feeding Our Future received $307,000 in reimbursements from the USDA in 2018, $3.45 million in 2019 and $42.7 million in 2020. The amount of reimbursements jumped to $197.9 million in 2021.
Court documents say the Minnesota Department of Education was growing concerned about the rapid increase in the number of sites sponsored by Feeding Our Future, as well as the increase in reimbursements.
The department began scrutinizing Feeding Our Future’s site applications more carefully, and denied dozens of them. In response, Bock sued the department in November 2020, alleging discrimination, saying the majority of her sites were based in immigrant communities. That case has since been dismissed.
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