(ConservativeSense.com) – A Seattle woman has been charged with attempting to influence the outcome of a federal trial by bribing a juror. Ladan Mohamed Ali gave $120,000 to a juror along with a list of instructions on how to persuade other jurors to acquit the defendants in a fraud scheme involving the Feeding Our Future organization. Ali also urged the juror to inject a racial element into the case and use the defendants’ immigrant status to gain sympathy from members of the jury.
US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew M. Luger announced the indictment of five people connected with the bribery. The other four were identified as Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, and Abdulkarim Shafii Farah. Prosecutors said the alleged bribers singled out the juror in question because she was the youngest, and they believed she was the only non-white person on the jury.
The five co-defendants allegedly researched the juror online, finding out where she lived and details about her personal circumstances. On the night before closing arguments in the fraud trial, Ladan Mohamed Ali dropped the cash off at the juror’s house in a gift bag and gave it to a relative, saying there would be more cash if the juror managed to persuade fellow jurors to acquit.
The initial trial involved a fraud scheme that stole funds from the Minneapolis non-profit group Feeding Our Future. The group falsely claimed to have provided 18 million meals during the coronavirus pandemic and collected $47 million from the state for doing so. Prosecutors said the fraudsters spent the money on property, lavish vehicles, and travel.
When the subject of the intended bribery learned about the cash drop-off from her relative, she phoned the police. Despite efforts to persuade the fraud trial jury, on June 7, its members convicted five of the seven Feeding Our Future group defendants on charges of wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering.
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