Overview
- A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Abdiaziz Shafii Farah to 10 years for trying to bribe a juror, to be served consecutively to the 28-year fraud sentence he is already serving.
- Prosecutors say Farah and others left a bag containing $120,000 at a juror’s home during the 2024 Feeding Our Future trial and promised more money if she secured an acquittal.
- The juror reported the offer to police, stopping the plot from succeeding, and investigators later recovered a written 'blueprint' and evidence that defendants tracked and surveilled her.
- After the bribery was reported, the judge ordered phones turned over and prosecutors say Farah factory-reset his phone to delete messages and video, prompting an obstruction charge and heightened sentencing requests.
- The case is part of the larger Feeding Our Future prosecutions that allege roughly $300 million in COVID-era reimbursement fraud and has produced multiple guilty pleas and prison terms, a development prosecutors say threatens jury independence and may increase scrutiny of juror safety and courtroom integrity.