Said Farah, aged 43, has become the fifth defendant to enter a guilty plea in an elaborate scheme aiming to bribe a juror during the high-profile Feeding Our Future trial, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. The trial previously saw seven defendants, including Farah's own brother, stand before U.S. District Judge David S. Doty for their roles in a fraudulent operation related to the nonprofit.
The juror bribery plan was reportedly quite elaborate, with co-conspirators Said Farah, his brother Abdiaziz Farah, and another sibling Abdulkarim Farah, who was not charged, attempting to sway the juror with a cash bribe. In an attempt to obtain a not guilty verdict, the group worked to gather $200,000 in cash to influence the juror's decision. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, condemned the bribery attempt, stating, "I cannot overstate how painful this was for all involved."
During the trial, the defendants employed several tactics in their effort to successfully reach Juror 52, which included obtaining personal information through social media and strategizing the physical delivery of the bribe. Ladan Ali, recruited by co-conspirator Abdimajid Nur, was to hand the bribe to Juror 52 in exchange for a promised $150,000. These plans, however, were founded on false premises as Ali lied about making contact with the juror, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota. The truth was that Juror 52 never agreed to accept a bribe.
Notwithstanding the misinformation, the group proceeded with their plan to bribe the juror. Funds for the bribe were sourced from a Hawala near the Karmel Mall, among other contributors. The Farah brothers entrusted Nur with the task of delivering the $200,000 to Ali, who, in turn, was directed to meet Abdulkarim Farah near the juror's home. While the façade continued, with a video purportedly showing the bribe being delivered, the FBI's Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. fiercely criticized the bribery attempt, stating, "In this country, justice is impartial, swift, and cannot be bought."
Sentencing dates for all five defendants charged in the juror bribery case are pending before Judge Doty, though specific timelines have not been announced. This high-stakes juror bribery case, which saw a futile attempt to corrupt the legal process, is a result of joint investigations undertaken by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, with prosecutions led by a team including Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Ebert, Harry Jacobs, and Daniel Bobier.
