Juror trying seven Somali migrants accused of swindling $40M in COVID funds is given huge bag of cash by woman who turned up at his doorstep with shocking request

A juror in the trial of a group of Somali migrants accused of defrauding more than $40 million from COVID funds was mysteriously offered $120,000 on the last day of the case, officials say.

Before jury deliberations in the trial of seven people linked to the charity Feeding Our Future, a juror reported that a woman came to her Minneapolis home with the bribe and said more money would be on the way “if she votes to acquit.” ‘. ‘

Prosecutors allege the defendants stole $41 million from government programs meant for hungry children, part of a broader scheme of more than $250 million allegedly defrauded through the charity in one of the nation’s largest pandemic fraud cases.

The juror reported the bribery to the local police, who then notified the police FBIas prosecutors condemned the incident as “scandalous” and “the stuff that happens in mafia movies.”

A juror in a Covid-19 fraud trial in Minneapolis was offered $120,000 in a white gift bag at her home the day before the case concluded

Seven defendants from Somalia are accused of defrauding more than $40 million through the charity Feeding Our Future, as part of a broader case that prosecutors are calling the country’s largest pandemic fraud

The bribery led prosecutors to issue an FBI search warrant on the defendants’ phones, as they argued that “it is highly likely that someone with access to the juror’s personal information conspired with, at the very least, the woman who handed over the $120,000 bribe.”

According to the Star Tribunethe woman who handed over the bribe showed up at the juror’s home shortly before 9 p.m. wearing all black.

The 23-year-old juror was not home at the time, but the woman spoke with her father-in-law and handed over a white gift bag filled with $100, $50 and $20 bills, according to the FBI search warrant.

The woman reportedly told the father-in-law that if the juror voted to acquit all seven defendants in the case, there would be “more of that gift tomorrow.”

They immediately reported the bribery attempt to Spring Lake Park police, who turned over the bag of cash to the FBI as the bureau launched an investigation into the incident.

As the trial came to a close the next day, the unnamed juror was dismissed from the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson telling U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel that the incident could change the high-profile case.

“This is outrageous behavior,” he said. “These are things that happen in mafia movies… This cannot be allowed.”

The suspected bribery came when a woman showed up at the juror’s Minneapolis home late at night and told her that if she voted to acquit, there would be “more of that gift tomorrow.”

The juror immediately reported the attempted bribery to Spring Lake Park police, who turned over the bag of cash to the FBI as the bureau began an investigation into the incident.

Judge Nancy Brasel (pictured) responded to the case by jailing and questioning the remaining jurors, detaining the defendants, approving an FBI search warrant on their phones and increasing security at the courthouse.

Officials have not provided any evidence linking the defendants, Said Shafii Farah, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff and Hayat Mohamed Nu, to the bribery.

The incident threatens to derail the seven-week trial as it wraps up, part of a broader case that officials have described as the largest cases of Covid-19 funding fraud in America.

A total of 70 people have been charged in the case, 18 of whom have pleaded guilty, as prosecutors say fraudsters used the charity Feeding Our Future to steal more than $250 million.

The defense for the seven charged in the bribery case claims they legitimately provided meals to hungry children, while officials argue they merely claimed to be offering meals to fictitious children before stealing the money.

Prosecutors say they received more than $40 million for more than 18 million meals at 50 food shelters in Minnesota between 2020 and 2021, but say only about 10 percent was spent on providing food to those in need.

They “brazenly” created shell companies to carry out the scheme, officials alleged, and allegedly submitted documents from fake children while jacking up prices.

FBI agents are seen raiding the offices of Feeding Our Future, which prosecutors say was used by the defendants to defraud hundreds of millions of dollars in a wide-ranging scheme.

The penalty for bribing a juror is up to 10 years in prison, and Thompson said the threat of jurors being bribed could disrupt further trials of more than three dozen other defendants in the disparate cases.

Thompson told the judge that the bribery “compromises the integrity of our system” as the judge has taken steps to ensure the jury’s impartiality.

Judge Brasel closed the jury of twelve jurors and five alternates before questioning each person, with each juror confirming that they had not been contacted by anyone outside the case.

The defendant’s phones were also seized when the judge approved the search request, and security at the courthouse was beefed up.

All seven defendants, who had been released after their arrest in 2022, were also detained, a move their lawyers protested despite agreeing that the attempted bribery was “deeply disturbing” and “unprecedented.”