Woman who carried cash in Feeding Our Future bribery case pleads guilty
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A woman pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to bribe a federal juror in the first Feeding Our Future trial — admitting she left a Hallmark gift bag with $120,000 at a juror’s home and said she would pay more in exchange for a not guilty vote.
Ladan Ali, 31, had previously pleaded not guilty, but changed course in court.
She is one of five charged in the attempted bribery attempt. The cash delivery came toward the end of a trial in which jurors heard testimony from seven people connected to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, who were charged with stealing $47 million from taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs.
As Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson questioned Ali, ensuring she understood the consequences of the plea deal — including the possibility of a maximum 15-year prison sentence — Ali asserted she understood, wiping away tears.
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Ali agreed that she was recruited by Abdimajid Nur to assist in the bribery attempt in exchange for a $150,000 payment, flying in from Seattle to assist with the plot. Ali admitted she was concerned the plan would fail and had her own scheme to steal some or all of the bribe money.
She admitted to falsely telling Nur that she met up with juror 52 at a bar and that the juror wanted $500,000 for returning a not guilty verdict. Ali never spoke with the juror and the juror never agreed to accept a bribe.
Late on June 2, Ali gave a gift bag with $120,000 to Juror 52’s relative, but pocketed the remaining $80,000 planned to be part of the bribery attempt. The targeted juror immediately alerted law enforcement of the attempt and was excused from the trial.
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger previously compared the plot to a mobster movie and said the alleged conspirators focused on the juror because they believed her to be the youngest and the only juror of color.
He said the alleged conspirators began researching family members and conducting surveillance to learn her habits.
“They studied her, followed her and determined that she would succumb,” he said, but “juror 52 could not be bought.”
The four others charged with the bribery attempt are: Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Nur and Said Shafii Farah. The latter three were also defendants in the Feeding Our Future trial.
Said Farah was acquitted in the earlier trial and Nur has pleaded guilty to the bribery attempt. Thompson said he wouldn’t be surprised if the rest pleaded guilty.
“This is the most bizarre thing I’ve experienced in court by far,” he said.
The plea deal calculates about a five to six year sentence for Ali, but the sentence will ultimately be decided by the judge.
“From the very beginning I wanted to take responsibility for my actions,” Ali said, when asked why she was pleading guilty.
U.S. District Judge David S. Doty granted Ali the right to remain released pending her sentencing.