– COVID fraud case juror
– $120K bag of cash.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
MINNEAPOLIS — A massive alleged federal fraud case in Minneapolis has taken a twist that the prosecutors said: “happens in mob movies.”
A bag of cash — $120,000 worth with promises of more — was dropped at the home of a juror who had been seated to hear a case of pandemic-era fraud, The Associated Press reported.
Seven people are on trial accused of taking more than $40 million in COVID-relief funds that had been earmarked to feed children. In total, there are 70 people facing charges in a case that cost taxpayers $250 million in one of the country’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases.
So far, 18 people have pleaded guilty in the fraud case with the government recovering $50 million, the AP reported.
Prosecutors revealed that most of the money, instead of feeding low-income children, went towards luxury cars, jewelry, travel, and property.
The defense claims that the issues stemmed from record-keeping mistakes, as they tried to abide by the ever-changing rules.
Furthermore, the defense argued that their clients did distribute food to children, but the alleged kickbacks were real payments and were typical of the East African culture of payments to family and friends, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
As for the juror who received the bag of cash, she has been dismissed from sitting on the case which started in April, the AP reported. She promptly called the police and turned the money over to the FBI, disclosing that a woman had dropped it off with her father-in-law on Sunday with a promise for another bag of money if the 23-year-old voted to acquit the seven defendants, the Star Tribune reported.
The search warrant, according to the newspaper, indicated that the woman who dropped off the money used the juror’s first name, which hasn’t been released to the public. She was only identified as Juror #52. Attorneys and the defendants did see a list of the jurors’ names and their addresses when potential jurors were called for duty.
The judge overseeing the case questioned all of the jurors and alternates, and none claimed to have been contacted by anyone related to the case. Despite this, the judge decided to sequester the jury for the remainder of the trial. Closing arguments in the case were presented on Monday.
The defendants, who have not been in custody since 2023, are now detained until an investigation can determine who leaked the list of jurors.
If charged and found guilty, the woman who left the money could face up to 10 years in prison, the Star Tribune reported.
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COVID fraud case juror given bag of cash, offer of more if she acquitted defendants: reports – WFTV.
