MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AX) — In a twist reminiscent of a gritty crime drama, a third confession has come forward in a convoluted plan to sway justice with $120,000 in cash—a daring attempt to corrupt a juror’s integrity during last year’s headline-grabbing “Feeding Our Future” fraud trial. This trial was entangled in allegations of a staggering $250 million misappropriation of federal child nutrition funds.
At the heart of this unfolding drama is Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, a 25-year-old from Minneapolis, who stepped into the judicial spotlight on a recent Wednesday, voicing his guilt. Like a carefully orchestrated play, Farah admitted to the covert delivery and meticulous documentation of the bribe intended to nudge “Juror 52″—a young and apparently singular juror of color—toward an acquittal verdict. Adding personal stakes to the narrative, two of Farah’s own brothers were seated among the accused in this extensive fraud trial.
According to detailed court filings, Farah and his conspirators centered their plot on Juror 52 after an extensive deep-dive into her personal life. In a sequence straight out of a crime thriller—removing license plates, leaving no trace—they tracked her from the courthouse to her sanctuary: her home. On June 2, 2024, with tension palpable, Farah recorded as his accomplice, Ladan Mohamed Ali, left $120,000 in a white bag at the juror’s doorstep, whispering promises of more if the verdict swayed their way.
Farah’s confession marks the third domino to fall in this juror bribery saga. Earlier in the year, Ladan Mohamed Ali confessed and pleaded guilty for being the hand that delivered the cash bribe—a dark piece of the conspiracy puzzle. Meanwhile, Abdimajid Nur, a defendant from the original Feeding Our Future fraud trial, also owned up to fabricating the bribery attempt’s elaborate architecture. However, like characters resisting their dramatic endings, Abdiaziz Farah and Said Farah—Abdulkarim’s older siblings—stand firm in their denials, their fate still undecided as they await their day in court.
The aftermath was swift. The juror, unwavering in her duty, reported the incident with immediacy, leading to her and an informed fellow panelist’s dismissal from the trial. With the jury now untainted, the gavel fell heavily on five of the seven defendants, reinforcing the case’s weight—a fraud labeled by prosecutors as one of the largest COVID-19-related financial scandals nationwide.
Nuancing her critique with gravity and disappointment, Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick condemned the bribery as “a shameful chapter in Minnesota history,” eloquently capturing both the audacity of the act and the resilience of justice. “Juror bribery strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system,” she remarked, holding Juror 52 up as a beacon of integrity, stating, “who could not be corrupted and immediately alerted law enforcement—represents the best of Minnesota.”
With the weight of his confession bearing down, Farah has pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a juror in U.S. District Court, currently held in custody as he awaits sentencing. The looming verdict promises a reflection on justice, with an expected sentence hovering just under five years. Meanwhile, the echoes of guilt and innocence intermingle as other defendants vie for their verdicts.
Zooming out to the heart of the matter, the wider Feeding Our Future investigation portrays a grim tableau of deceit, with over 70 individuals allegedly siphoning federal funds earmarked for feeding low-income children amid the pandemic’s peak. The trial’s records poignantly detail how some defendants painted false meal counts, pocketing federal reimbursements whilst weaving intricate webs of shell companies to mask their gains.
And so we wait, the sentencing hearing for Farah shimmers uncertainly on the horizon, promising yet another chapter of revelation and resolution in this complex story.
Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring
