Said Farah, 43, the fifth defendant charged in the juror bribery scheme, pled guilty today to his role in providing a cash bribe to a juror in the Feeding Our Future trial, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
On April 22, 2024, seven defendants went to trial before U.S. District Judge David S. Doty for their roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Two of the defendants on trial were brothers—defendant Said Farah and his brother, Abdiaziz Farah.
During the trial, Said Farah conspired with others, including his brother, Abdiaziz Farah, and a third brother not charged in the case, Abdulkarim Farah, to provide a cash bribe to one of the jurors, known as Juror 52, in exchange for returning a not guilty verdict in the trial. In total, five defendants have thus far been charged in the juror bribery case.
Said Farah is the fifth defendant to plead guilty. All five defendants are currently pending sentencing before Judge Doty. Those sentencings dates have not yet been set.
“I watched this unfold with my own eyes—it was corruption stacked on corruption,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “The Feeding Our Future scheme was already a staggering and brazen fraud.”
According to court documents, co-conspirators Abdimajid Nur and Abdiaziz Farah researched Juror 52’s address and other personal information online and via social media, including Juror 52’s Facebook account. Through their online research, conspirators Abdimajid Nur and Abdiaziz Farah identified Juror 52’s home address and found information about Juror 52’s background and family members.
Nur recruited co-conspirator Ladan Ali to deliver the bribe money to Juror 52. At the time, Ali was living in Seattle, Washington. During the trial, Ali flew from Seattle to Minneapolis to meet with Nur and discuss the plan to bribe Juror 52. Ali agreed to deliver the bribe money to Juror 52 in exchange for a $150,000 cash payment.
On Thursday, May 30, 2024, Ali flew from Seattle to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to deliver the bribe money to Juror 52. Nur asked Ali to surveil and follow Juror 52 home as she left court for the day. Nur gave Ali a photo of Juror 52’s car and a map of the Jerry Haaf Memorial Parking Ramp where Juror 52 parked.
On Friday, May 31, 2024, Ali attempted to follow Juror 52 home as she left the Jerry Haaf Parking Ramp at the conclusion of the first day of closing arguments.
On June 1, 2024, Ali told Nur—falsely—that she had approached Juror 52 at a bar. Ali falsely told Nur that Juror 52 was interested in taking the bribe and wanted $500,000 in exchange for returning a not guilty verdict. Ali said that Juror 52 wanted Ali to deliver the money at noon on Sunday, June 2, when Juror 52 would be home alone. None of this was true. Ali did not speak with Juror 52, and Juror 52 never agreed to accept a bribe.
Nevertheless, believing Ali’s account to be true, Nur relayed Ali’s account to Abdiaziz Farah, who said that he would gather the bribe money. At approximately 11:03 PM on June 1, 2025, Abdiaziz Farah called defendant Said Farah, informed him of the plan to bribe Juror 52, and asked for Said Farah’s assistance in gathering cash for the bribe. On the morning of Sunday, June 2, Said Farah gathered a portion of the $200,000 in cash for use as bribe money.
In addition to Said Farah’s efforts to obtain the bribe money, a former Feeding Our Future employee who is charged in another indictment with participating in the fraudulent scheme to obtain federal child nutrition program funds, also worked to gather cash for the bribe. Said Farah and this individual obtained the cash from multiple individuals as well as a Hawala located near the Karmel Mall.
On the afternoon of June 2, Said Farah and his brother Abdiaziz Farah met with Nur outside of Said Farah’s business, Bushra Wholesalers. Said Farah and Abdiaziz Farah gave Nur a cardboard box containing $200,000 in cash to bribe Juror 52.
Nur then met Ali in a parking lot in Bloomington, Minnesota, to give her the bribe money. Nur handed Ali the cardboard box containing the $200,000 in cash. Ali took the cash out of the box and put it into one of the Hallmark gift bags.
Nur then instructed Ali meet Abdulkarim Farah at a location near Juror 52’s house so that Abdulkarim Farah could accompany Ali to Juror 52’s house and record her delivery of the bribe as proof that the bribe money was delivered and that Juror 52 accepted the bribe.
Later that night, Said Farah received the video of Ali delivering the bribe money via an encrypted messaging app. Said Farah later deleted the video to conceal his involvement in the bribery scheme.
“The attempted bribery of a juror is a shocking attack on the fabric of our legal system,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “In this country, justice is impartial, swift, and cannot be bought. The extraordinary work on this case attests to the commitment of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the judicial process and relentlessly pursue those who seek to corrupt that system.”
