Feeding Our Future: 5th bribery conviction
Said Shafii Farah, age 43, entered a guilty plea in the attempted juror bribery case arising out of the first Feeding Our Future courtroom trial conducted last year.
He pled guilty to one felony count. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson comments:
I watched this unfold with my own eyes—it was corruption stacked on corruption. The Feeding Our Future scheme was already a staggering and brazen fraud. But then came something even more corrosive: a cynical attempt to buy off a juror who stood strong and refused to be corrupted. I cannot overstate how painful this was for all involved. This was an unprecedented attack on our very system of justice. It shook Minnesota to its core. Now we must grapple with how we got here—no more denial, no more looking away. We must not allow corruption and fraud to define the future of justice in Minnesota.
The full press release includes the full bribery caper backstory.
Farah has been held in the federal lockup in the Sherburne County jail since the end of the fraud trial in June 2024, more than a year ago.
Farah and his co-defendants were associated with the now-closed Empire Cuisine restaurant and market in Shakopee.
As fate would have it, Farah was one of two defendants acquitted in the 7-defendant courtroom trial last year. With the overlapping defendants between the bribery and the fraud cases, you need a scorecard to keep track of it all:
Five defendants were charged in the bribery case. Said today became the fifth and final defendant from that group to plead guilty. in the bribery case, Said pled guilty along with his younger brother Abdiaziz and his half-brother Abdulkarim.
For his bribery conviction, Said Farah faces a maximum 15 years in prison. The sentencing guidelines that appear in the plea agreement range from 51 to 78 months. Call it 4 to 6 years. He, of course, forfeits his claim on the bribe cash recovered (shown above). He may also have a fine imposed that could range up to $250,000.
The underlying Feeding Our Future fraud case has produced 52 convictions so far. Subtracting out the overlap, the fraud and bribery cases combined have seen 55 defendants convicted.
No one has been sentenced in the bribery case, as of yet.
In the Empire Cuisine fraud case, Hayat Nur is scheduled to be sentenced next week, August 26. Prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of 87 months, more than 7 years. The Defense is requesting a mere 18 months.
Ali, now age 28, has also been held in Sherburne County since the end of the trial last year.