Man pleads guilty in plot to bribe Feeding Our Future juror with $120,000 cash

One of five people accused of plotting to bribe a juror with a gift bag stuffed with $120,000 in cash during last month’s federal meal fraud case pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, 23, of Shakopee pleaded guilty to one count of bribery of a juror. He is also awaiting sentencing for felony fraud convictions in the trial that led to the bribery attempt — the first in the massive Feeding Our Future case. In a Minneapolis federal courtroom Tuesday, Nur admitted to his role in trying to evade that conviction through a scheme to buy off a juror singled out by several co-defendants during jury selection.

“Why are you pleading guilty?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson asked.

“Because I want to get on the right path,” Nur said.

U.S. District Judge David Doty accepted Nur’s guilty plea but did not schedule a sentencing date.

A federal grand jury last month indicted Nur, Ladan Mohamed Ali and brothers Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Said Shafii Farah and Abdulkarim Shafii Farah on charges of conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror and corruptly influencing a juror. Abdiaziz Farah is also charged with one count of obstruction of justice.

All but Abdulkarim Farah — a younger half brother of the other two Farah siblings — and Ali were charged in the massive food aid fraud case.

According to charges, the defendants singled out 23-year-old woman identified as Juror 52 at the beginning of trial and surveilled her before delivering the bag of cash at her home on June 2.

Prosecutors have disclosed that Nur had a prior relationship with Ali before recruiting her to the plot in Minnesota. Ali flew from Seattle to Minnesota on May 30 and Nur said he asked her to follow the juror as the juror left court a day later, when closing arguments started. Nur gave Ali a photo of the juror’s car and a map of the parking ramp in which she parked each day.

Ali agreed to help in exchange for $150,000, according to Nur’s plea agreement. The juror was allegedly targeted by the defendants because she was the youngest and appeared to be the only person of color on the jury. On Tuesday, Nur admitted that the group researched her Facebook account and identified her home address, among other personal details.

Nur’s plea agreement disclosed that Ali allegedly falsely told Nur that she encountered Juror 52 at a bar on June 1. Nur said Tuesday that Ali relayed that the juror was willing to help acquit — but in exchange for $500,000. Ali told Nur she wanted to deliver the money on June 2, when the juror would be home alone. But Nur said Tuesday none of that was true.

At the time, Abdiaziz Farah arranged for $200,000 to be picked up the next day at Said Farah’s Bushra Wholesalers business, according to the plea hearing. Said Farah handed over a cardboard box containing the cash. Nur then delivered the money to Ali in a parking lot in Bloomington, and she transferred the money to a gift bag.

The juror was not present when Ali delivered a gift bag containing $120,000 in cash on June 2, charging documents said. Ali allegedly told the juror’s father-in-law there would be more cash in exchange for voting to acquit. The juror immediately reported the incident to Spring Lake Park police and was excused from the trial on June 3.

It was not clear from the hearing or charges what happened to the rest of the cash intended for the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said previously that federal agents discovered on one of the defendant’s phones a detailed manual purportedly aimed at ordering the woman to sway the jury toward acquitting the seven people on trial. Prosecutors have added that Abdulkarim Farah recorded video of Ali dropping off the cash at the juror’s home on June 2. Nur admitted Tuesday that he received a copy of that video via an encrypted messaging app and later deleted the footage.

The four others charged in the alleged conspiracy have pleaded not guilty. All but Ali, who is on supervised release, remain jailed as the case proceeds. Nur is being held in Anoka County jail as he awaits sentencing.