Judge calls out 'attack' on justice system after witness tampering in Feeding Our Future trial
The plot thickens in the biggest Covid-19 Pandemic Relief scandal case in American history - at the center of the scandal is the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center and its subsidiaries.
The plot thickens in the biggest Covid-19 Pandemic Relief scandal case in American history - at the center of the scandal is the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center and its subsidiaries.
Dar Al-Farooq mosque is one of 50 sites statewide where the defendants are accused of claiming they gave out 18.8 million meals as part of a federal child nutrition program. The program’s regulations, which were supposed to be enforced by the state Department of Education, were eased during the pandemic to expedite food delivery. Defendants and witnesses in a series of trials concerning $250 million of “misused” federal child nutrition funds have implicated a far-reaching network of organizations and individuals across Minnesota.
Prosecutors have so far painted a complex web of contracts, subsidies and kickbacks involving dozens of individuals and organizations. The second trial is uncovering the 'Feeding Our Future' organization that distributed funds to food vendors and food sites, which were supposed to provide ready-to-eat meals to local children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a bombshell revelation during the current ongoing trial, the judge last Friday revoked the pretrial release of a Feeding Our Future defendant for allegedly trying to intimidate a witness. Last week, during the ongoing trial of Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock and restaurant owner Salim Said, Abshir allegedly approached cooperating defendant Sharmake Jama, who was in a courthouse hallway waiting to testify, and asked to speak with him in a bathroom. Abdinasir Abshir is scheduled to go on trial later this year for his alleged role in a $250 million conspiracy to defraud taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs during the pandemic.
At the hearing, Thompson revealed that the FBI found “a series of AK-47 assault rifles” during the search of a mansion on Park Avenue in Minneapolis that Said and other defendants allegedly purchased with fraud proceeds and used as their headquarters.
Back Story Connections to the Accused:
Under Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the state of Minnesota awarded over $2 million to an Islamic group that fundraises for a charity linked to an al Qaeda affiliate, according to funding records reviewed by the Washington Examiner, August 20024.
Futhermore, in the summer of 2017, Dar Al-Farooq was bombed by a group that sought to “scare [Muslims] out of the country,” according to federal charges. Gov. Tim Walz spoke at the Islamic Center on August 6, 2020, calling on Minnesotans to support the Center and Bloomington’s Muslim community as it grapples with the fear of violence. “Dar al-Farooq is not defined by that bombing. Imam Mukhtar is not defined by an attack when he went to worship,” Walz said. “But Minnesota could be, if we don’t choose together and decide how we’re going to address inclusion, how we’re going to address and push back on Islamophobia or anti-Semitism or hatred toward our LGBTQ community.”
As these cases move forward, I wonder who else will be disclosed as possible co-conspirators? This is getting interesting.