5 Convicted in $250M Fraud Case After Juror had $120K Bribe Delivered to Her Door in a Sack; 5 of 7 Defendants Convicted of Misusing Covid Relief Money Meant to Feed Children, and other C-Virus related stories
5 convicted in $250M fraud case after juror had $120K bribe delivered to her door in a sack:
A Minnesota jury has convicted four men and one woman for their participation in a sprawling scheme to steal more than $40 million in funds earmarked for hungry children during the pandemic.
The case garnered national attention after a brazen bribe attempt in which a Hallmark gift bag stuffed with $120,000 cash was delivered to a juror’s home the night before the jury was scheduled to be in court to hear closing arguments.
The juror was dismissed before deliberations, along with a second juror who had learned about the attempted bribe.
The FBI is still investigating the bribe attempt, with no arrests made as of Friday evening.
The seven defendants — all of whom are of East African descent — are the first group of 70 people in line to stand trial for what federal prosecutors are calling one of the biggest fraud cases to exploit the COVID-19 crisis.
In all, more than $250 million in federal funds were pilfered in the scheme, with just $50 million recovered so far, according to authorities.
The defendants were facing a laundry list of charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and federal programs bribery.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff and Hayat Mohamed Nur were convicted on most of the counts.
Two other defendants were acquitted, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin and Said Shafii Farah. —>READ MORE HERE
5 of 7 defendants convicted of misusing Covid relief money meant to feed children:
A Minnesota jury on Friday found five of seven defendants guilty of most of the crimes they faced related to a scheme in which they misused millions of dollars meant to feed children during the pandemic.
The federal fraud trial was the first in a $250 million Covid relief scheme that prosecutors say is the largest of its kind.
The verdict comes days after one juror said she had been offered nearly $120,000 in cash in exchange for voting to acquit. The juror was dismissed after reporting the alleged bribe attempt to the court and police.
A second juror was released Tuesday after a family member brought up the alleged bribe in a conversation.
After deliberating for more than three days, the sequestered jury found five of the defendants — Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff and Hayat Nur — guilty of most of the crimes they were accused of, according to NBC affiliate KARE reporter Lou Raguse.
Two other defendants — Said Shafii Farah and Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin — were acquitted of all the crimes they faced, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
The conspiracy to commit money laundering charge comes with a potential penalty of 20 years in prison.
From April 2020 to January 2022, the defendants collectively received more than $40 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds, which were meant to provide free, nutritious meals to children and low-income families, according to a criminal complaint. —>READ MORE HERE
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