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Feeding our Future trial: 2nd juror dismissed
Two jurors have been dismissed in the last two days during deliberations over one of the largest pandemic fraud schemes in the nation. FOX 9’s Rob Olson has the details.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A second juror in two days has been dismissed in the Feeding our Future trial after a bag of cash was dropped off to a juror in an attempted bribe for a not-guilty verdict.
This development comes as jury deliberations are underway in the massive fraud case.
The bag of cash, totaling $120,000 in $100s, $50s, and $20s, is now evidence in a new federal investigation of attempted bribery and jury tampering.
The targeted juror, a 23-year-old, was dismissed on Monday and replaced by an alternate. The remaining jurors were immediately sequestered to prevent further attempts or any prejudicial influence.
However, on Tuesday morning, a 25-year-old juror was also dismissed simply because they learned of the bribe from a family member.
The seven defendants, collectively accused of stealing nearly $50 million in federal money, were taken into custody and booked since only they and their lawyers would know the jurors' identities. At the end of a trial that began in late April, involving 24 days of testimony and evidence, this is a twist that is almost unheard of.
Former Hennepin County Chief Judge Kevin Burke told FOX 9: "I’ve never heard of an instance of an attempted bribe of a juror in Minnesota."
Judge Jeremy Fogel, former director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington D.C., with 30 years on the bench, stated: "This situation never arose in any of my jury trials, nor did I hear of anything similar from my colleagues."
Former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Tom Heffelfinger added, "This is a very unusual and dangerous situation and will be fully investigated by federal authorities. I would expect federal charges in the future."
Jury deliberations continued on Tuesday but no verdict has yet come down.