Trial I · 22cr124

US v. Farah

April – June 2024 · 30 volumes summarized

Witness Index →

⚠ Missing Volumes

Vol XVIII not available · pages 4208–4517 · approx. May 16–17, 2024

Vol XXVII AM not available · pages 6353–6492 · May 31, 2024 (morning session — government closing)

Case Overview

US v. Farah was a seven-defendant federal fraud trial arising from the Feeding Our Future (FOF) program in Minnesota. The government alleged that defendants — site operators and food vendors connected to FOF (a CACFP/SFSP sponsor) and Partners in Nutrition/Partners in Quality Care (a second private sponsor run by Kara Lomen) — submitted fraudulent meal count claims to MDE and laundered approximately $46 million in reimbursements through shell entities, real estate, luxury spending, and foreign transfers.

Government's Theory — How They Built the Case

AUSA Ebert's opening identified five tools of fraud: fake sites, fake records, fake children, bribes/kickbacks, and laundering. The centerpiece visual was a map of Faribault showing seven sites claiming 7,000 daily meals in a town with only 4,000 school-age children. The government's fundamental claim was that 'almost none of this money was used to feed children.'

Strategic Brief for Defense Counsel

The Central Argument

Kara Lomen is the central unanswered question of this entire prosecution. She is the Executive Director of Partners in Nutrition — a private CACFP/SFSP sponsor organization structurally identical to Aimee Bock's Feeding Our Future. She is not an MDE employee. She processed the majority of program money. She had direct CLiCS access and submitted all claims to MDE. She sent the text message: 'I will turn off the errors so you can enter the meal counts and info, but we need to get them in ASAP before anyone notices. LOL.' She was named a co-conspirator in the court's Bell findings in Trial 1. She was never charged. She was never interviewed by the FBI (her attorney sent a letter and the government simply accepted this). She was never called as a witness by either side. She never testified before the grand jury. The government charged site operators and food vendors while leaving the primary sponsor executive who controlled the submission system, disabled its error-checking, and processed hundreds of millions of dollars in claims entirely untouched. This disparity is the foundation of your defense.

Regulatory Framework

SFSP open sites required NO individual child identification, NO rosters, NO verification of individual attendance. Any child under 18 who appeared could receive a meal. The government's entire roster-fraud argument is inapplicable to open SFSP sites. Parks' school enrollment comparison methodology is categorically invalid for these sites.
COVID-19 USDA waivers were in effect throughout the relevant claim period. Non-congregate feeding, parental pickup without child present, and area eligibility flexibility were all authorized. Every government witness who implies that 'no children were seen eating at sites' is making a legally incoherent argument during the waiver period.
The CLiCS accountability gap. Only sponsors had CLiCS access. Sponsors submitted all claims. Sponsors received all reimbursements from MDE. The defendants were vendors and operators who invoiced the sponsors — the same way any food vendor invoices a program operator. The fraud theory, if any, must originate at the sponsor level.

Cross-Examination Priorities

Joshua Parks (IRS, rosters): Do not repeat Trial 1's catastrophic failure to cross-examine Parks. This is the single most important cross opportunity in the case. Lines: (1) SFSP open site rules — no roster required, legally; (2) excluded school districts, charter schools, Islamic schools, pre-K, refugees; (3) 3 months post-training, still in training status — Daubert challenge; (4) no baseline comparison to a legitimate large open-site food distribution operation; (5) cross-site overlap explained by family clusters using multiple sites; (6) MyFoodProgram error codes as alternative explanation for fictitious names.
Kara Lomen (if she testifies or if you call her): (1) 'Turn off the errors' text — what errors? what system? what was she disabling?; (2) Who directed her to enter meal counts?; (3) What did she observe at the sites she submitted claims for?; (4) Why did her attorney prevent FBI from speaking with her?; (5) Does she understand she was named a co-conspirator by the court in Trial 1 while remaining uncharged?
Jared Kary (if he returns): Lead with the Wolfe interview false testimony. Then: zero surveillance, Bushra not searched, Said's email not subpoenaed, investigation started with presumption of guilt, sponsor primary responsibility concession.
Pauline Roase: Hidden column in M-series exhibits — demand the native Excel files before trial and show the jury the unilateral classification decisions she made. SEC shell company test concession. Excluded vendor invoices.
Emily Honer: SFSP open site roster rule — she testified incorrectly that rosters were required. This is your most important legal point — the government's regulatory foundation is built on an error. Cross her on the USDA waiver text directly.

Expert Requirements

Regulatory expert on CACFP/SFSP: Must be qualified to testify on (1) SFSP open site rules — no roster required; (2) the full USDA COVID-19 waiver regime and its effect on each program requirement; (3) what MDE's CLiCS system approved and auto-paid without review; (4) who bears primary regulatory submission responsibility (sponsors, not site operators). Identify and disclose early.
Forensic accountant: Must be ready to (1) calculate LIFO as well as FIFO and present both to the jury; (2) match Sysco/food-vendor purchase records to claimed meal volumes; (3) rebut Roase's M-series classifications with the native Excel data; (4) calculate Afrique's actual investment income, non-program revenue, and landlord improvement allowances that Blackwell omitted. Jill DeSanto (excluded in Trial 1 due to unavailability) should be pre-qualified well before trial.
East African diaspora economics expert: If deployed, must review actual transaction records and connect cultural practices to specific transaction facts in evidence. Cannot be purely academic.

Motions in Limine

Exclude or limit Parks' roster analysis as to SFSP open sites — no roster was required, making the school enrollment comparison legally irrelevant for those sites
Require government to produce native Excel files underlying all Rule 1006 summary exhibits before trial — the hidden column issue requires disclosure of full methodology
Daubert motion challenging Parks as expert if he will present opinion testimony — 3 months post-training is not sufficient qualification for the methodology he deployed
Daubert motion challenging Roase and Blackwell if they will testify to opinions beyond custodial financial records — their classifications and asset-tracing opinions constitute expert testimony requiring disclosure
Motion for USDA waiver regulatory instruction — request that the court instruct the jury on the applicable waivers before any evidence about physical presence at sites is admitted
Willful blindness instruction: oppose strenuously. The instruction requires evidence that the defendant affirmatively acted to avoid learning a specific fact — not mere ignorance or negligence. Research 8th Circuit standard and identify the specific act of avoidance the government claims before the instruction is given
Good faith instruction: push for broadest possible good faith instruction covering all counts, not just wire fraud
Motion to identify all potential cooperating witnesses and their agreements before trial — Ahmed's 'sole discretion' cooperation arrangement raises questions about government control of witness testimony

Volume Index

Final Pretrial Conference

Vol II (Jury Voir Dire)

Vol III (Jury Voir Dire)

Emily Honer, Jared Kary

Jared Kary, Bill Menozzi

Bill Menozzi, William Walker, John Ruhland

Gretchen Hawk, Bill Petracek, Tamara Zaharia

Shane Ball, Vicki Klemz, Amanda Knez

Dinna Wade-Ardley, Brian Pitzen

Roberto Amenta, Maria Dolores Rieta, Luke Morris

Brian Pitzen, Brianna Van Horn, Lonnie Mills

Pauline Roase, Lacra Blackwell

Lacramioara Blackwell

Dr. Paul M. Vaaler, Jacob Steen, Yusuf Ali

Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, Sulekha Hassan