FBI agents charge five with $120,000 bribe attempt in US fraud trial

In a shocking turn of events, five individuals have been charged with attempting to bribe a juror with a $120,000 cash gift in order to sway the outcome of a US pandemic fraud trial. The incident took place during a federal criminal trial in Minneapolis related to the theft of over $40 million by workers from Feeding Our Future, a charity that received funds from a federal food-aid program.

The unnamed 23-year-old juror raised the alarm after receiving a gift bag filled with cash in the closing days of the trial. Prosecutors have stated that the accused individuals, including Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, and Ladan Mohamed Ali, conspired to bribe the juror to influence the jury’s decision in favor of the defendants.

US Attorney Andrew Luger described the attempted bribery as a “chilling attack on our justice system” and commended the juror for not succumbing to the scheme. The suspects allegedly targeted the juror because of her race and age, believing her to be more easily influenced than other jurors.

The accused individuals hoped to use the juror to convince the rest of the panel that prosecutors were racist, leading to a favorable outcome for the embezzlement defendants. Luger revealed that the suspects had prepared a manual instructing the juror to play on racial and immigrant biases to sway the jury.

Bribing a juror is a serious felony with a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. This case marks the first criminal attempt to bribe a federal juror in the state of Minnesota, underscoring the severity of the charges against the defendants. The investigation into this brazen scheme is ongoing, shedding light on the lengths to which some individuals will go to manipulate the justice system for their own gain.