Days before his trial was to begin, a Brooklyn Park man accused of intimidating a witness pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in the massive Feeding Our Future federal food fraud scheme.
Abdiwahab Mohamud admitted in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Friday that he falsified documents for S&S Catering and stole more than $17 million from the federal child nutrition program alongside his co-conspirators. Mohamud is the last of his seven co-defendants to plead guilty. Jury selection for his trial was slated to begin Tuesday. His sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
Earlier this week, Mohamud was ordered placed into custody ahead of his trial following allegations that he pressured a witness to not testify against him. During a hearing on Monday, FBI Agent Jared Kary testified that the witness revealed she had two encounters with Mohamud at the Mall of America and Karmel Mall during which he called her a “snitch” and made her promise not to testify. Prosecutors said she later told them she no longer wanted to take the stand.
Jason Steck, Mohamud’s attorney, denied Mohamud was attempting to strong-arm the witness during the hearing, describing the government’s assertion of witness tampering as vague with little evidence.
At the urging of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel ordered Mohamud to be detained, saying she couldn’t ensure a fair trial if witnesses are afraid and that she has shown little tolerance for similar conduct that disrupted prior proceedings in the case.
During the trial of Salim Said, federal prosecutors alleged that another Feeding Our Future suspect scheduled to go on trial months later tried to convince one of his co-conspirators to go into the courthouse bathroom for an inappropriate conversation.
The closing of the first trial in the $250 million scheme was rocked last year with the attempted bribing of a juror. The juror was excused from court duty after she reported that a person showed up at her home with a bag of $120,000 in cash, and that the person told one of her relatives she would get more money if she voted to acquit.
