Avril Elfi from OAN
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 5:45 PM
Two of five people accused of conspiring to bribe a Minnesota jury with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for the defendants’ acquittal in one of the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud cases pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
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Abdulkarim Shafi’i Farah and Syed Shafi’i Farah were arraigned before U.S. District Judge Tony Leon in Minneapolis. Both defendants are charged with conspiracy to tamper with a jury, tampering with a jury and improperly influencing a jury. Judge Leon ordered both defendants detained pending trial, citing threats to fundamental elements of the justice system.
A third co-defendant pleaded not guilty last week.
“I’ve been a judge for decades and I’ve never seen such a calculated, coordinated and executed attempt to buy a jury,” Leon said. “To me, this is the heart of an attack on our justice system, on the rule of law.”
Lawyers for Saeed and Abdulkarim urged Reug to consider releasing them pretrial on certain conditions, arguing the charges they face do not carry a legal presumption of detention and that they have strong ties to the community that would prevent them from fleeing.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, jury tampering is so rare that it’s “almost unheard of.”
Leong said the detention of both men was necessary because their threats to the rule of law put the community at risk.
Court records unsealed last week revealed the defendants’ scheme to track the juror’s daily life, purchasing a GPS device to install in her car, surveilling her and searching for personal information about her on social media.
Authorities have speculated that the defendants specifically selected the woman, known as “Juror 52,” because they believed she was the only person of color on the jury panel and the youngest.
According to the FBI, Ali called police after he visited Ali’s home and gave Ali’s relatives a gift bag containing $120,000 in cash, telling them they would get more money if the jury voted not guilty. Ali was removed from the case before the jury could begin deliberations.
The remaining three, Abdiaziz Shafi’i Farah, Abdimadjid Mohamed Noor and Radan Mohamed Ali, are charged with bribery-related offences. Abdiaziz Farah, who is also charged with obstruction of justice, will not be arraigned until July 10th because he recently hired a new lawyer.NumberNoor has yet to stand trial and Ali pleaded not guilty last week.
Said Farah and another man were acquitted in last month’s fraud trial, but Abdiaziz Farah and Abdimadjid Noor were two of five people found guilty. Ali and Abdulkarim Farah were not involved.
Authorities say the scheme involved the theft of more than $250 million in federal funds, but only about $50 million of that has been recovered. Prosecutors allege that Abdiaziz Farah sent millions of dollars worth of the stolen money to Kenya, where he used it to build a 12-story apartment building in Nairobi.
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