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CASE 0:22-cr-00124-NEB-TNL Doc. 355 Filed 03/14/24 Page 1 of 5
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
NO. 22-CR-00124(5) (NEB-TNL)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v. NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION
FOR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
SAID SHAFII FARAH,
Defendant.
TO: THE HONORABLE NANCY E. BRASEL, JUDGE OF UNITED STATES
DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA, AND ALL
PARTIES AND THEIR COUNSEL OF RECORD.
AFRO PRODUCE LLC, 2554 COMO AVENUE, UNIT 3, ST. PAUL, MN
55108
COMMISSIONER WILLIE JETT, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, 400 NE STINSON BOULEVARD, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55413
NOTICE OF MOTION
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on March 22, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., or as soon
thereafter as counsel may be heard, counsel for Defendant Said Farah will bring a motion
before the Honorable Nancy E. Brasel, Judge of United States District Court for the District
of Minnesota, 300 South Fourth Street, Courtroom 13W, Minneapolis, MN, 55415 for an
Order to Show Cause as to why the Minnesota Department of Education and Afro Produce
LLC should not be held in contempt of court for failing to produce subpoenaed documents
in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c).
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Defendant Said Farah’s Motion is based upon all of the files, records, and
proceedings herein, as well as the arguments of counsel and the supporting declaration and
exhibits filed and served herewith.
MOTION
Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 42, Defendant Said Farah, by and through his
undersigned counsel, hereby moves the Court for an Order that Afro Produce and the
Minnesota Department of Education appear and show cause for why they should not be
held in contempt of court for failure to produce subpoenaed documents in accordance with
Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c). Defendant Said Farah seeks this relief on the following grounds:
1. On September 13, 2022, a federal grand jury returned a 43-count Superseding
Indictment against Said Farah and seven co-defendants,1 charging defendants
with participating in a $40 million scheme to defraud a collection of programs it
refers to as the Federal Child Nutrition Program. (ECF No. 57.) Among other
things, the indictment alleges that this group of defendants fraudulently
misappropriated program funds by creating dozens of shell companies to enroll
in the Program as Federal Child Nutrition sites and falsely claiming to serve
meals to thousands of children a day from April 2020 to January 2022. (Id.) Mr.
Farah is alleged to have created a “shell company” called Bushra Wholesalers
that “was used to receive and launder more than $4.5 million in Federal Child
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Co-defendants, listed in the following order, include Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail Mukhtar
Sharif, Mahad Ibrahim, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, and Hayat Mohamed Nur.
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Nutrition Program funds . . . .” (Id.) He is thus charged with counts of Wire Fraud
Conspiracy (Count 1), Wire Fraud (Count 12), Conspiracy to Commit Federal
Programs Bribery (Count 13), Federal Programs Bribery (Counts 16, 18, and
19), Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering (Count 20), and Money
Laundering (Counts 21 and 40). (Id.)
2. On or about February 5, 2024 the undersigned prepared a subpoena duces tecum,
pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c), addressed to Afro Produce, requesting, inter
alia, the return of documentation or data concerning the purchase of goods or
services by Bushra Wholesalers from Afro Produce between January 1, 2020
and January 31, 2022. The subpoena instructed Afro Produce to produce the
documents in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota,
before the Honorable Tony N. Leung, in Courtroom 9W, U.S. Courthouse, 300
South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415 on February 29, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
Alternatively, the subpoena informed Afro Produce that the documents could be
transmitted to the undersigned electronically via email. A copy of the Subpoena
to Afro Produce is attached as Exhibit A to the Declaration of Clayton J. Carlson
in Support of Motion for Order to Show Cause (“Carlson Declaration”).
3. On or about February 7, 8, and 9, a process server attempted unsuccessfully to
serve the above-referenced subpoena on Afro Produce at its registered office
address at 2620 Bloomington Ave. S. #1, Minneapolis, MN 55407. On February
15, 2024, a process server successfully accomplished service at an alternative
address for Afro Produce: 2554 Como Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108. A copy of
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the affidavits of service and attempted service are attached as Exhibit B to the
Carlson Declaration.
4. On or about February 5, 2024, the undersigned also prepared a subpoena duces
tecum, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c), addressed to Willie Jett,
Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education. Among other things,
the subpoena requested the return of documentation or data concerning Bushra
Wholesalers’ participation in the Child Adult Care Food Program and the
Summer Food Services Program between January 1, 2020 and January 31, 2022.
The subpoena instructed Commissioner Jett to produce the documents in the
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, before the Honorable
Tony N. Leung, in Courtroom 9W, U.S. Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street,
Minneapolis, MN 55415 on February 29, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Alternatively, the
subpoena notified Commissioner Jett that the documents could be transmitted to
the undersigned electronically via email. A Copy of the Subpoena to
Commissioner Jett is attached as Exhibit C to the Carlson Declaration.
5. On or about February 6, 2024, a process server successfully accomplished
service of this subpoena upon Daron Korte, Assistant Commissioner of the
Minnesota Department of Education, at 400 Northeast Stinson Boulevard,
Minneapolis, MN 55413. A copy of the affidavit of service is attached as Exhibit
D to the Carlson Declaration.
6. To date, counsel has not received documents from either Afro Produce or the
Minnesota Department of Education in response to the subpoenas. Counsel has
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likewise not had or received any communications from either Afro Produce or
the Minnesota Department of Education regarding either subpoena.
7. Said Farah hereby respectfully requests that the Court issue an Order requiring
Afro Produce and the Minnesota Department of Education to appear and show
cause for why they should not be held in contempt of court for failure to produce
the subpoenaed documents in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c).
This motion is based upon the Superseding Indictment, all of the records and files
in the above-captioned matter, and any and all other maters which may be presented prior
to or at the time of the hearing of this motion, which is hereby requested.
MASLON LLP
Dated: March 14, 2024 By: s/ Clayton J. Carlson
Steven L. Schleicher (#0260587)
Clayton J. Carlson (#0401182)
3300 Wells Fargo Center
90 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402-4140
Telephone: (612) 672-8200
Facsimile: (612) 642-8354
Email: steve.schleicher@maslon.com
clayton.carson@maslon.com
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT SAID
SHAFII FARAH
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