Saturday April 5, 2025

In this image provided by the U.S. District Court and the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah is seen in a booking photo overlaid on evidence bags containing $120,000 in cash. The money was allegedly used in a June 2024 attempt to bribe a juror during the Feeding Our Future fraud trial in Minneapolis. Farah pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of juror bribery. (U.S. District Court via AP; Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn (HOL) — A Minneapolis man has become the third person to plead guilty in a scheme to bribe a federal juror with $120,000 in cash during last year’s high-profile “Feeding Our Future” fraud trial, which involved the alleged theft of at least $250 million in federal child nutrition funds.

On Wednesday, 25-year-old Abdulkarim Shafii Farah admitted he delivered and recorded the bribe intended to sway “Juror 52”—the youngest person on the jury and believed by the conspirators to be the only juror of color—to vote for acquittal. Two of Farah’s brothers were defendants in the underlying fraud trial.

According to court documents, Farah and several co-defendants targeted Juror 52 after researching her personal information. They followed her home from the courthouse, removed the license plate from a rental car to avoid detection, and then drove to the juror’s house on June 2, 2024. Farah recorded a video as an accomplice, Ladan Mohamed Ali, delivered a white bag containing $120,000 in cash to a family member of the juror, allegedly telling them there would be more money if the juror voted to acquit.

Farah is now the third person to plead guilty in the juror bribery case. Earlier this year, Ladan Mohamed Ali, who delivered the cash bribe to the juror’s home, admitted her role in the scheme and entered a guilty plea. Abdimajid Nur, one of the original defendants in the Feeding Our Future fraud trial, also pleaded guilty for helping orchestrate the bribery attempt. Meanwhile, Abdiaziz Farah and Said Farah—Abdulkarim’s older brothers—have pleaded not guilty and are currently awaiting trial.

The next day, the juror reported the attempted bribe to authorities, prompting the court to dismiss her and one other panelist who had been informed of the incident. The remaining jury later convicted five of the seven defendants in the fraud case, which prosecutors described as one of the nation’s largest COVID-19-related fraud schemes.

Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick criticized the bribery attempt as “a shameful chapter in Minnesota history,” saying, “Juror bribery strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system. … Juror 52—who could not be corrupted and immediately alerted law enforcement—represents the best of Minnesota.”

Farah pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a juror in U.S. District Court and remains in custody pending sentencing. He faces an expected sentence of just under four years to five years in prison. Two other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in the bribery scheme, while others await trial or have entered not guilty pleas.

In the broader Feeding Our Future investigation, prosecutors allege more than 70 individuals took part in fraudulently collecting federal child nutrition funds meant to feed low-income children during the pandemic. Trial records show some defendants filed fake meal counts and pocketed federal reimbursements, using shell companies to hide the proceeds.

A sentencing hearing for Farah will be scheduled at a later date.