Man Who Tried To Bribe Juror In $250M Minnesota Fraud Case Sentenced To Prison
A Minneapolis man involved in an attempt to bribe a juror during the massive Feeding Our Future welfare fraud trial will spend nearly five years behind bars.
Abdulkarim Farah, 25, was sentenced Wednesday to 57 months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud.
Prosecutors said Farah attempted to influence a juror during the first federal trial tied to the $250 million fraud scheme connected to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
According to federal investigators, the bribery plot unfolded in April 2024 as two of Farah’s brothers were preparing to stand trial in the case. Authorities say the group attempted to secure a favorable verdict by targeting a juror identified in court documents as Juror 52.
The bribery effort involved delivering a Hallmark gift bag stuffed with $120,000 in cash to the juror’s home just hours before closing arguments in the case.
Prosecutors said Farah conducted surveillance on the juror and recruited accomplice Ladan Ali to deliver the cash-filled bag.
Court records show Farah removed the license plates from a rental car before driving Ali to the juror’s residence on June 2, 2024, and recorded video of the delivery.
Inside the gift bag were bundles of $20, $50, and $100 bills along with a note that read: “This is for Juror 52. Tell her there will be another bag for her if she votes to acquit.”
The juror immediately reported the attempted bribe to the court the following day, triggering a federal investigation.
After the bribery scheme became public during the trial, prosecutors said Farah deleted the encrypted messaging app Signal from his phone after sending a video of the bribe delivery to one of his brothers.
The attempted bribery was part of the broader investigation into the Feeding Our Future scheme, one of the largest pandemic fraud cases in U.S. history. Federal authorities say dozens of defendants, many tied to coordinated networks of conspirators, exploited a federal child nutrition program meant to feed needy children during the pandemic.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Tostrud praised the juror for refusing the bribe despite the large amount of money offered.
“Properly functioning juries are the core of our criminal justice system,” the judge said while commending the juror for resisting what he described as a substantial financial temptation.
Farah’s sentence fell near the top of the federal sentencing guidelines, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.