Two jurors have been dismissed in one of the biggest coronavirus relief fraud trials in the country as federal authorities prosecute more than three dozen Somali Muslim migrants in Minnesota who stand accused of defrauding the government of $250 million that was intended to feed needy children.
The first juror was dismissed on Monday after telling court officials that a woman dropped off $120,00 in cash — in exchange for voting to acquit the defendants — with one of her relatives at her home, KSTP-TV reported.
On Tuesday, the second juror was dismissed after officials found that someone had also tried to bribe the juror with $120,000 in cash in exchange for a vote to acquit the defendants, NBC News reported.
The first juror reportedly told officials that she knew the name of the woman who tried to bribe her and that she said there would be “more of that present tomorrow” if the jury voted to acquit the defendants.
Both jurors have been replaced with alternates.
This is the first case in the charges against around 60 Somali migrants. In this first case, officials are charging six men and one woman for allegedly defrauding the government with the “Feeding Our Future” program, which was supposed to feed needy children.
Feeding Our Future offices on January 27, 2022, in St. Anthony, Minnesota. (Shari L. Gross/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Prosecutors say the scheme involved creating an umbrella group called “Feeding Our Future,” advertised as bringing food to needy children during the pandemic. The accused allegedly used fraudulent groups to file for relief funding at mosques across Minnesota and then, after receiving the funds, reported feeding thousands of children every day. However, authorities say that few children ever actually received the aid.
“This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said in 2022, announcing the opening of the case. “These defendants exploited a program designed to provide nutritious food to needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they prioritized their own greed.”
The FBI raids Feeding Our Future in St. Anthony, Minnesota, on January 20, 2022. (Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Eighteen of those initially indicted in the case pleaded guilty. The remaining 50 or so suspects have pleaded not guilty and are now standing trial in several cases.
Court officials have seized the defendants’ phones to investigate the bribery charges, and search warrants have been issued to search the homes and property of the two dismissed jurors.
The FBI confirmed that the defendants and their legal representatives all have access to the names and information of each juror.
The second day of jury deliberations ended on Wednesday without a verdict.
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