A woman who prosecutors say was recruited to fly from Seattle to surveil and bribe a juror in this month’s federal meal fraud case pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko released Ladan Mohamed Ali, 31, from custody after her brief initial appearance in a St. Paul federal courtroom on conditions that included a prohibition from contacting potential victims or witnesses in the case.
Ali, who has ties to Minnesota, is one of five people charged by indictment in the first federal juror bribery case seen in Minnesota in generations. Both Ali and her attorney, Eric Newmark, declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing.
Ali, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah and Abdulkarim Shafii Farah are all being charged with 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.
According to charges, Ali was recruited by Nur and flew from her home in Seattle to offer the 23-year-old juror $120,000 in cash supplied by Said Farah, one of the defendants on trial, on June 2. Juror No. 52, as she was known during jury selection, was allegedly targeted by the defendants because she was the youngest juror and appeared to be the only one of color.
The brothers Farah — Abdiaziz, Said and Abdulkarim — remain in federal custody after making their first appearances on the new charges Wednesday. They will be back in court in Minneapolis on Monday for hearings in which they will be asked to enter pleas on the charges. Nur does not yet have a court date as his attorney is based in New York.
Prosecutors this week said Abdiaziz Farah organized the bribery conspiracy. Nur recruited Ali and gave her the box of bribe money, and Abdulkarim Farah helped Ali surveil Juror 52 to learn more about her.
