A man from Minneapolis has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for attempting to influence a juror during a federal trial related to Minnesota’s notorious $250 million welfare fraud case.
Abdulkarim Farah, 25 years old, was given a 57-month prison sentence by District Court Judge Eric Tostrud on Wednesday. Following his prison term, he will undergo one year of supervised release. Farah’s offense involved offering a bribe—specifically, a gift bag containing $120,000 in cash—to a juror in the first trial concerning the Feeding Our Future case.
The bribery attempt occurred in April 2024, just as Farah’s two brothers were preparing to stand trial in connection with a large-scale pandemic fraud scheme. The brothers, along with Farah, devised a plan to bribe Juror 52 in hopes of obtaining a not guilty verdict, as outlined by federal prosecutors.
The Farah brothers were part of a group, primarily consisting of Somali individuals, accused of misappropriating funds from a federal relief program intended to provide meals to children in need during the pandemic.
As the scheme unfolded, Farah was tasked with “surveillance” of Juror 52. He then enlisted the help of co-defendant Ladan Ali to deliver the bribe.
In preparation for the illegal act, Farah removed the license plates from a rental car to “evade law enforcement detection.” He then drove Ali to the juror’s home on the night of June 2, 2024, while recording a video of her handing over the bribe, as noted in Farah’s plea agreement, according to prosecutors.
The Post previously reported that a Hallmark gift bag containing $120,000 cash and a note promising even more money if Juror 52 voted to acquit was delivered to her home just a few hours before closing arguments in the case.
An FBI affidavit said the Hallmark gift bag the juror received was stuffed with rolls of $20, $50 and $100 bills, and the note read, “This is for Juror 52,” The New York Times reported. “Tell her there will be another bag for her if she votes to acquit.”
The juror told the judge about the bribery attempt the following day.
Farah, who had sent the video of Ali delivering the gift bag to one of his brothers on trial, “uninstalled and deleted the encrypted messaging app Signal from his iPhone” after the bribery attempt was discussed in court.
Farah’s 57-month sentence is at the high end of federal sentencing guidelines, according to the Minnesota US Attorney’s Office.
At Farah’s sentencing, the judge praised Juror 52 for “resisting the temptation to accept the very substantial bribe” and declared that “properly functioning juries are the core of our criminal justice system.”
