On the eve of the final day of a federal fraud trial in Minneapolis, a woman arrived at a juror's house in her Mazda carrying a Hallmark gift bag decorated with butterflies and flowers and containing stacks of $100, $50 and $20 bills worth a total of about $120,000.
The juror in the case, in which the defendants are accused of using charities to steal millions of dollars, was not at home when the unusual package arrived Sunday night, but an FBI agent said a relative of the juror picked it up.
“This is dedicated to juror number 52,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson was quoted as saying by the woman, according to an article by online news organization Sahan Journal. “Tell her that if she votes not guilty, she'll get another bag.”
The 23-year-old woman, a juror, returned home to find the cash had been delivered and called her local police department, which reported the bribery attempt to federal authorities.
The jury was dismissed Monday and prosecutors asked the judge for permission to seize the cellphones of the seven people on trial as investigators try to determine who may have been behind the jury tampering scheme.
The revelation has thrown the trial into disarray. The defendants are accused of embezzling $41 million from a government program that provides meals to hungry children through the nonprofit Feeding Our Future during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors have accused them and dozens of others of embezzling $250 million by claiming to have provided nonexistent meals to nonexistent children.
Prosecutors have so far charged 70 people in the case, 18 of whom have pleaded guilty. The government has seized bank accounts, real estate and vehicles, recovering roughly $60 million.
Defense lawyers have argued in recent days that their clients fed many needy people during the pandemic. They have also sought to discredit government witnesses who were involved in the scheme and cooperated with the investigation in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence.
FBI Agent Travis Wilmer noted in a search warrant application filed in court on Monday that the identities of the jurors were known to the defendants.
“Here, it is highly likely that individuals with access to the personal information of jurors conspired with the women to offer at least $120,000 in bribes,” Wilmer wrote. “Indeed, in this case specifically, defendants and other co-conspirators used electronic communications, including text messages and emails, to communicate about their illegal activities.”
This is the first case related to the scandal to go to trial. After six weeks, the trial is nearing its end. The defense gave their closing arguments on Monday, and the jury is currently deliberating on the case. In court on Monday, the defense said they were troubled by the allegations, according to court reports.
Following the revelation, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brazel asked the remaining jurors and alternate jurors if they had been contacted in a similar way, the Star Tribune reported. All answered “no,” the paper reported.
Police in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, where the bribery attempt took place, referred questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Judge Brazell on Monday ordered the defendants' cellphones turned over to FBI agents trying to find evidence of the origins of the bribery attempt, and, at the request of the prosecution, after closing arguments were concluded and the jury was given its verdict instructions, he ordered the defendants detained.
Judge Brazell also ordered that the jury be sequestered from others for the remainder of the trial, an unusual measure in a high-profile case where jury tampering is a concern.
The Sahan Journal newspaper reported that the potential bribe recipient was not in court Monday. She appeared to be the only person of color on the jury, the newspaper reported. The seven defendants are Somali immigrants: Abdiaziz Shafi'i Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimadjid Mohamed Noor, Syed Shafi'i Farah, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, Mukhtar Mohamed Sharif and Hayat Mohamed Noor.
FBI agents interviewed jurors Monday morning and seized a bag of cash from the Spring Lake Park Police Department. Authorities did not say whether the woman who delivered the cash has been identified.
Bribing a juror is a felony.
