A second juror in the first federal Feeding Our Future trial was excused Tuesday after hearing about an attempted bribe of another jury member.
Deliberating with an alternate, the jury did not reach a verdict as members considered the case for a second day.
On Sunday, a woman dropped off a gift bag of $120,000 in cash to the home of a 23-year-old juror and said the juror would receive more cash if she voted to acquit the defendants. The juror, who reported the incident to police, was excused.
On Tuesday, a second juror — a 25-year-old woman from Savage — said she heard about the attempted bribery from a family member. An alternate — a 30-year-old Andover man — replaced her as the jury weighs 41 charges against seven people accused of stealing money meant to feed needy children.
The verdict will be widely watched because it’s the first trial in a broader case that’s led to charges against 70 people since 2022, when the FBI began investigating meal program fraud. With $250 million allegedly stolen, prosecutors called it one of the largest pandemic fraud cases in the country.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sequestered the jury Monday night after the attempted bribery, citing their safety. Brasel also added security to the courtroom, detained defendants and had an FBI agent confiscate their phones. Authorities are investigating the leak of jurors’ names, which hadn’t been publicly disclosed to anyone besides the attorneys.
The seven defendants, all tied to a Shakopee restaurant, received more than $40 million for 18 million meals, part of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that reimburse schools, nonprofits and day cares for feeding low-income children after school or during the summer.
Prosecutors allege defendants exploited the pandemic to get rich with phony invoices and rosters of made-up children’s names. They called witnesses who saw no or few meals served, FBI agents and accountants who traced money to personal expenses.
