Minneapolis, Minnesota – Five Minnesota residents were convicted while two were acquitted on Friday for their involvement in a scheme to steal over $40 million from a program designed to provide meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case gained significant attention when it was revealed that an attempt was made to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash. The dismissed juror, as well as another who was informed about the incident, were both excused before deliberations began. The FBI is currently investigating the attempted bribe, although no arrests have been made yet.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson condemned the attempted bribe as an assault on the criminal justice system and stated that authorities would use all available resources to investigate the matter thoroughly. The defendants were accused of fabricating claims of providing millions of meals to children in Minnesota during the pandemic to defraud the state and steal tens of millions of dollars.
This trial is part of a larger investigation involving 70 individuals conducted by federal prosecutors, who have labeled it as one of the most significant COVID-19-related fraud cases in the country. In total, over $250 million in federal funds were misappropriated in the Minnesota scheme, with only approximately $50 million recovered so far.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided the food aid that was distributed by the state through nonprofit organizations and other partners. The defendants allegedly exploited the relaxed regulations to submit invoices for meals that were never served, set up shell companies, laundered money, engaged in passport fraud, and accepted kickbacks.
Prosecutors revealed that only a small portion of the funds received through the Feeding our Future nonprofit were used to feed low-income children, while the remainder was spent on luxury items such as cars, jewelry, travel, and real estate. Among the convicted individuals were Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, and Hayat Mohamed Nur.
Following the attempted bribery incident, the judge ordered all defendants to surrender their cellphones for investigation purposes. She also instructed that they be taken into custody and sequestered the jury during deliberations.
The FBI agent detailed how a woman delivered a bag of cash to a juror’s home, instructing them to vote not guilty in exchange for more cash. The juror promptly notified law enforcement and turned over the bag containing around $120,000. It was later revealed that someone involved in the fraud conspiracy had access to the juror’s personal information, raising suspicions of collusion with the briber.