On Friday, a jury found five Minnesotans guilty of stealing almost $40 million meant to feed children during the coronavirus outbreak, but cleared two other defendants. After a witness attempted to bribe a juror with a bag containing $120,000 in cash, the case gained national attention. Before the trial had started, the juror was removed, and another juror who had been informed of the bribery attempt was also removed.
Prosecutors describe the seven defendants as the first of seventy to go on trial in connection with one of the biggest COVID-19-related scams in US history, taking advantage of loose regulations intended to prevent a financial collapse during the epidemic. In all, the Minnesota conspiracy embezzled more than $250 million in federal monies, of which only around $50 million was recovered, according to the authorities. Counts against the defendants included conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery with regard to government programs. The majority of the charges against Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, and Hayat Mohamed Nur were judged to be true. Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin and Said Shafii Farah were found not guilty on any of the charges against them.
An AP investigation from June of last year showed how criminals nationwide embezzled billions in government COVID-19 relief funds. Over $280 billion might have been stolen by fraudsters, and an additional $123 billion was lost or misused. Ten percent of the $4.3 trillion distributed by last autumn was lost. The Justice Department reports that almost 3,200 individuals have been prosecuted and that about $1.4 billion in stolen assistance has been confiscated. In the Minnesota case, a lady rang a juror's doorbell the night before the case went to trial, according to an FBI agent's affidavit. She gave a gift bag to a relative at the entrance. "The woman told the relative to tell Juror #52 to say not guilty tomorrow and there would be more of that present tomorrow," said the spy.
Prosecutors describe the seven defendants as the first of seventy to go on trial in connection with one of the biggest COVID-19-related scams in US history, taking advantage of loose regulations intended to prevent a financial collapse during the epidemic. In all, the Minnesota conspiracy embezzled more than $250 million in federal monies, of which only around $50 million was recovered, according to the authorities. Counts against the defendants included conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery with regard to government programs. The majority of the charges against Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, and Hayat Mohamed Nur were judged to be true. Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin and Said Shafii Farah were found not guilty on any of the charges against them.
An AP investigation from June of last year showed how criminals nationwide embezzled billions in government COVID-19 relief funds. Over $280 billion might have been stolen by fraudsters, and an additional $123 billion was lost or misused. Ten percent of the $4.3 trillion distributed by last autumn was lost. The Justice Department reports that almost 3,200 individuals have been prosecuted and that about $1.4 billion in stolen assistance has been confiscated. In the Minnesota case, a lady rang a juror's doorbell the night before the case went to trial, according to an FBI agent's affidavit. She gave a gift bag to a relative at the entrance. "The woman told the relative to tell Juror #52 to say not guilty tomorrow and there would be more of that present tomorrow," said the spy.
