Ladan Mohamed Ali, 31, a Seattle woman, has pleaded guilty to her role in providing a $120,000 bribe to a juror in the Feeding Our Future trial, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
In a shocking twist, Ali and four other defendants conspired with each other to provide a cash bribe to one of the jurors in exchange for the juror returning a not guilty verdict in the trial. According to court documents, on April 22, 2024, seven defendants went to trial before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel for their roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
Ali flew from Seattle to Minneapolis to meet with co-defendant Abdimajid Nur to discuss the plan to bribe Juror 52. Ali agreed to deliver the bribe money to Juror 52 in exchange for a $150,000 cash payment. On May 30, 2024, Ali again flew from Seattle to Minneapolis to carry out the bribery scheme. On May 31, 2024, at the direction of Nur, Ali attempted to follow Juror 52 home as she left a downtown Minneapolis parking ramp at the conclusion of the first day of closing arguments in the trial.
Ali came up with an alternative plan to steal some or all of the bribe money. On June 1, 2024, Ali told Nur —falsely—that she had approached Juror 52 at a bar and that Juror 52 was interested in taking the bribe but wanted $500,000 in exchange for returning a not guilty verdict. Ali told Nur that Juror 52 wanted Ali to deliver the money at a specific time when Juror 52 would be home alone.
Nur believed Ali and told her that he would obtain the bribe money from co-defendants Abdiaziz Farah and Said Farah. On June 2, 2024, Ali met Nur in a parking lot in Bloomington to pick up the bribe money. Prior to the meeting, Ali purchased two Hallmark gift bags in which to deliver the bribe money. During the meeting, Nur handed Ali a cardboard box containing $200,000 in cash. Ali took the cash out of the box and put it into one of the Hallmark gift bags.
Ali then drove to an area near Juror 52’s house to meet Abdulkarim Farah, who would accompany Ali to Juror 52’s house and video record her delivery of the bribe as proof that the bribe money was delivered and Juror 52’s acceptance of the bribe. Abdulkarim Farah insisted that he drive Ali to Juror 52’s house. This prevented Ali from stealing all of the bribe money. After Ali met up with Abdulkarim Farah, they stopped at a nearby store to purchase a screwdriver. Abdulkarim Farah used the screwdriver to remove the license plate from Ali’s rental car prior to delivering the bribe.
At approximately 8:50 p.m. on June 2, 2024, upon arriving at Juror 52’s house, Ali approached the house with the gift bag containing the bribe money, handed it to a relative of Juror 52 and explained that there would be more money if Juror 52 voted to acquit the defendants. Abdulkarim Farah remained in the car and took a video of Ali’s delivery of the bribe money. Ali received $200,000 in cash from Nur, all of which was intended to be used to bribe Juror 52. But Ali only delivered $120,000 to Juror 52’s relative and kept the remaining $80,000 cash for herself.
Ali pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Judge David S. Doty to one count of bribery of a juror. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI with assistance from IRS – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The investigation revealed a shocking scheme of bribery and corruption that threatened the integrity of the justice system.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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