Trial I · US v. Farah

Vol XII

2024-05-08

Day Overview

Volume XII covers the full direct examination and start of cross-examination of Hadith Ahmed, a Somali-born cooperating witness who pled guilty and agreed to cooperate in exchange for a sentencing reduction. Ahmed testified that he started at Feeding Our Future in late 2020, quickly became Aimee Bock's de facto right-hand man, simultaneously ran his own fraudulent site (Southwest Metro Youth with co-conspirator Abdikerm Eidleh), accepted over a million dollars in kickbacks from site operators, and helped orchestrate post-raid obstruction by backdating fake consulting agreements. The most significant moment is Ahmed's granular testimony about how kickbacks worked: site operators paid him to ensure their claims were prioritized to Aimee's desk, site supervisors were never dispatched to their sites, and the entire operation was treated as a 'bank.' Cross by Mr. Schleicher (for Said Farah) had only begun when the day ended at 3:00 p.m., focusing so far on Ahmed's delay in contacting authorities and his fraud timeline. Defense counsel should pay close attention to: (1) Ahmed's credibility vulnerabilities — he is self-interested, admitted to two years of personal fraud before cooperation, and initially concealed information; (2) his limited direct knowledge of individual defendants' specific intent; and (3) his testimony characterizing Kara Lomen and Partners in Nutrition (called 'Partners in Quality' by Ahmed) as a rival sponsor operation that also had VIP client relationships — Ahmed's framing conflates the sponsors but does not establish PIN involvement in fraud.

Government Strategy

The government devoted this entire day to direct examination of Hadith Ahmed, a cooperating insider who served as Aimee Bock's right-hand man at Feeding Our Future. The government's goal was to establish — from someone with direct operational knowledge — how the fraud worked from the inside: the mechanics of fake meal counts, shell company invoices, kickbacks paid to FOF employees for favorable treatment, and the post-search-warrant obstruction scheme involving fabricated consulting agreements. The government also used Ahmed to directly link defendants Abdiaziz Farah (Empire Cuisine), Said Farah (Bushra Wholesalers), and Abdimajid Nur (ThinkTechAct/Empire) to specific kickback payments and VIP treatment arrangements. Cross-examination began at the end of the day, covering Ahmed's motive to cooperate and his delay in coming forward.

Strategic Notes for Defense Counsel

1. Ahmed's claimed December 2020 email to Emily Honer at MDE alerting her to FOF problems is a potentially significant loose thread that neither side has fully developed. If that email exists, it could show that MDE was on notice about FOF irregularities months before the fraud allegedly expanded — relevant to whether the government's theory that MDE was a passive, defrauded victim holds up. Defense counsel should subpoena that email in any related proceeding. 2. Ahmed's testimony about VIP treatment is devastating as to FOF insiders but is purely inferential as to the Empire/ThinkTechAct defendants. He received kickback checks from Bushra/Said Farah and Empire, but his testimony about what those payments purchased is his own interpretation — he has no direct knowledge that Abdiaziz Farah or Said Farah knew that site supervisors were being kept away from their sites or that the meal counts were inflated. Defense counsel should attack this as Ahmed's self-serving reconstruction. 3. The COVID-era program expansion context is completely absent from Ahmed's testimony and was never challenged by defense counsel. Ahmed himself testified that during COVID 'anyone from childcare, Delta daycare owners, nonprofits, residents, grocery owners, truck drivers' could participate, and that the program 'was just extended because of COVID.' This is consistent with USDA's actual waivers — the government never asked Ahmed to testify about what those waivers permitted, which means the jury heard only the fraud narrative without the legitimate regulatory context. 4. Kara Lomen and Partners in Nutrition appear in this volume as a parallel sponsor organization — Ahmed confirms she is the Executive Director ('executive director of Partners in Quality') and describes the organization's right-hand-man structure as mirroring FOF's. She is not implicated in fraud by Ahmed, and her organization is consistently described as a rival sponsor, not an MDE entity. This testimony reinforces that PIN/Lomen is a private sponsor executive operating under the same reimbursement model as FOF. 5. The post-raid obstruction evidence — backdated consulting agreements arranged by Abdiwahab Aftin — is strong for the government on the obstruction count, but it can be double-edged: Ahmed's own motive to create false documents is equally evident, and the fact that he was willing to do so immediately (with no hesitation: 'Let's do it') shows he was still lying and fabricating records even after being caught. His obstruction is as significant as anyone else's, and the jury will need a reason to believe he stopped lying when he became a cooperator.

Witnesses

Hadith Ahmed

Former employee of Feeding Our Future (Aimee Bock's right-hand man) and operator of fraudulent food site Southwest Metro Youth; pled guilty and is cooperating in exchange for a sentencing break.

Cooperating Witness Government

Direct Examination

The government walked Ahmed through his entire involvement: his background as a childcare director, his recruitment to FOF in late 2020, his operation of the fraudulent Southwest Metro Youth site (claiming ~2,500 meals/week while serving a fraction), his acceptance of over $1 million in kickbacks disguised as consulting payments from site operators including those connected to Empire Cuisine/Bushra (Said Farah, Abdiaziz Farah, Abdimajid Nur), and his post-search-warrant obstruction by backdating fake consulting agreements with Abdiwahab (Aftin). The government also elicited Ahmed's account of Aimee Bock's awareness: Bock knew rosters were fake, knew sites were not operating, told Ahmed to 'overlook' it, and directed him to prioritize claims from VIP clients.

▸

Ahmed testified he joined FOF within weeks of starting and began committing fraud almost immediately: 'We created this to participate in the fraud scheme' (Southwest Metro Youth, October 2020). Within two weeks of starting at FOF, he was already setting up a fraudulent site. — Establishes rapid and deliberate entry into fraud, useful for the government's theory of knowing participation. But also demonstrates how fast anyone could become entangled — potential argument that defendants were swept in similarly. [p. 2931]

▸

Ahmed described kickbacks as a systemic feature at FOF: 'All of us were [taking kickbacks]... All the staff at Feeding Our Future were getting paid kickbacks.' He personally received over $1 million in kickbacks, including $127,000 from Actioncare (Ayan Abukar), $45,000 from Liban Alishir, and checks from Bushra Wholesalers ($65,250 and $35,000) connected to Said Farah and the Empire/ThinkTechAct network. — Critical to the government's network theory — establishes that kickback payments were widespread and that operators knew they were paying for special treatment, including suppressed supervision. [p. 2822-2825]

▸

Ahmed testified that Aimee Bock personally told him ThinkTechAct/Dar Al-Farooq attendance and invoices were fake: 'Aimee Bock right away told me that what they are submitting is fake names and fake invoices.' Ahmed's response: 'Just don't go into deep lists. Let's just continue. Let's overlook.' — Direct evidence that Bock had knowledge of fraud. Also raises the question of whether individual defendants who submitted through ThinkTechAct knew the invoices were fake or were themselves misled. [p. 2895]

▸

Ahmed described the VIP treatment given to Empire/ThinkTechAct sites: he assigned them under himself or Bock, ensured no site supervisor would visit, processed their applications first, and prepaid them before MDE approval. He received a $10,000 check from Empire Cuisine (Gov. Q-28, Feb. 1, 2021) and a $12,000 check from Said Farah/Bushra (Gov. O-106, Feb. 15, 2021), plus the later $65,250 and $35,000 Bushra checks (Gov. Q-31, Q-33). — Direct evidence connecting Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah, and the Empire network to Ahmed's kickback scheme, and showing that in exchange Ahmed guaranteed no site visits. Government argues this proves knowing participation in fraud by the Empire defendants. [p. 2844-2870]

▸

Post-search-warrant obstruction: Ahmed testified that Abdiwahab (Aftin, Defendant 6) contacted him by phone from an unknown number after the January 2022 raids, arranged a parking lot meeting, and asked Ahmed to create backdated fake invoices and sign a fake consulting agreement to match the Bushra kickback checks. Ahmed also attended a September 2022 meeting with Said Farah and Abdimajid Nur at his apartment where they told him to 'stick with' the fake consulting agreement. — Government's key obstruction evidence tying Aftin and the broader Empire network to post-raid consciousness of guilt. But Ahmed admits he was equally motivated to cover his own tracks: 'I stole money from the Government.' [p. 2901-2912]

▸

Ahmed testified that he submitted a $139,000 cashier's check to Abdiaziz Farah to convert to cash in Kenya for land purchase. Ahmed framed this as Farah being a 'close friend... businessman that was involved in Minnesota businesses and Kenya businesses.' — Government uses this to connect Farah to money laundering / overseas transfer of fraud proceeds. Defense will argue this was a legitimate currency conversion request between friends with no Farah knowledge of fraud proceeds origin. [p. 2915-2916]

▸

Ahmed mentioned he knew Kara Lomen as 'the executive director of Partners in Quality' and described Julius (Scarver) as 'her right hand... just like how I was with Aimee Bock at Feeding Our Future.' He testified he worked with Julius's nonprofit (Free Minded Institute) under Partners in Quality after leaving FOF. — Ahmed directly names Kara Lomen as executive director of the sponsor organization and describes its structure as a mirror of FOF's. NOTE: Ahmed consistently calls it 'Partners in Quality' or 'Partners in Quality Care' — this is Partners in Nutrition (PIN). Her organization is a private sponsor, not an MDE entity. Ahmed's description of the PIN structure reinforces the parallel between the two sponsor organizations without implicating Lomen in wrongdoing. [p. 2765, 2884-2885, 2849]

▸

Ahmed testified that after MDE lifted a stop-pay on FOF, Ayan Abukar (Actioncare) brought a 'whole box' of meal counts and invoices for sites that had never operated, claiming she had been serving food for the prior year. Ahmed described this as 'everyone was doing it' and acknowledged Ikram Mohamed was helping process claims for sites known to be fake. Ahmed was fired after blocking Abukar's request. — Shows that FOF was processing backdated claims en masse when the stop-pay was lifted — consistent with government's large-scale fraud theory. But Ahmed's own statement 'everyone was doing it' could be used to argue the program environment was so chaotic that individual defendants could not distinguish legitimate from fraudulent participants. [p. 2874-2879]

Cross-Examination

Cross began at page 2919 by Mr. Schleicher (for Said Farah) and was only partially completed before the 3:00 p.m. stop. Schleicher focused primarily on Ahmed's credibility and self-interest: his delay in contacting authorities (only cooperated after the FBI came to him in June 2022, five to six months after the raids), his own extensive criminality, and the fact that he began committing fraud within two weeks of starting at FOF. Cross was methodical and effective at establishing Ahmed's deep personal culpability, though it had not yet reached the substantive connections to Said Farah.

▸

Ahmed admitted he never contacted FBI, USDA, MDE, or any law enforcement on his own — he only cooperated after the FBI contacted him in June 2022, some eight to nine months after he started committing fraud and five to six months after the January 2022 raids. — Classic cooperator motive attack — Ahmed came forward only when caught, not out of genuine remorse. Reduces his credibility as a truth-teller. [p. 2922-2944]

▸

Schleicher established that Ahmed started committing fraud 'within two weeks' of beginning work at FOF in late September/early October 2020, by submitting fake Articles of Incorporation and opening bank accounts for Southwest Metro Youth by October 21, 2020. — Ahmed was a fast, enthusiastic fraud participant — not a reluctant insider. Undermines the notion that he was swept along by FOF leadership. Also useful for defense argument that fraud culture was widespread and easy to join. [p. 2931]

▸

Ahmed claimed he sent an email to Emily Honer at MDE 'at the end of December' 2020 telling her to 'take a look at what is happening at Feeding Our Future.' This was not established by the government on direct. — If true, this email is potentially significant: it could show that MDE was alerted to problems at FOF and continued approving claims anyway. Defense should seek to subpoena or obtain this email. [p. 2926-2927]

▸

Ahmed described the Articles of Incorporation of Southwest Metro Youth — which he signed — as containing a false stated purpose ('provide social and educational after-school programs'). He confirmed: 'This is a lie that you signed your name to' — 'Yeah.' — Schleicher effectively used Ahmed's own document to reinforce that Ahmed is someone who creates and signs false records as a matter of course, impeaching his general credibility. [p. 2932-2933]

Vulnerabilities Ahmed is a deeply compromised cooperating witness with substantial credibility problems. He personally committed over $2 million in fraud using two fraudulent operations (Southwest Metro Youth and Free Minded Institute under PIN), accepted $1M+ in kickbacks, created and signed multiple false corporate documents, fabricated invoices, and backdated contracts to obstruct a federal investigation — all before cooperating. He only came forward after being contacted by the FBI, and is testifying to reduce a 4-5 year sentence. His testimony contains internal inconsistencies: he claims to have emailed Emily Honer at MDE about fraud in December 2020 (a highly significant claim that was not developed by either side), yet continued committing fraud himself for months afterward. His knowledge of individual defendants' intent is largely inferential — he received kickbacks and infers they paid them for fraudulent protection, but he has limited direct evidence of what Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah, or Abdimajid Nur actually knew about the underlying meal count fraud at their sites. His characterizations of Partners in Nutrition/Kara Lomen are limited to knowing her as a sponsor executive and noting that Julius Scarver operated as her right-hand man in the same way Ahmed operated for Bock — this does not establish PIN fraud. Ahmed consistently mislabels the organization as 'Partners in Quality' or 'Partners in Quality Care' — if this testimony is used to imply PIN involvement in fraud, the name confusion could be exploited. His Free Minded Institute work under PIN involved smaller-scale fraud with different mechanics and limited self-knowledge ('I will say maybe — if we claim 200, probably some were fake').

For Defense Counsel Multiple openings for defense counsel: (1) Attack the email to Emily Honer claim — if this email exists and MDE did nothing, it potentially impeaches the government's theory that MDE was a passive victim and supports a defense argument that the regulatory oversight failure enabled fraud without defendants' knowledge. (2) Exploit the $139,000 Kenya land check — Ahmed says he 'asked Abdiaziz if he can take it and give me cash in Kenya' framing Farah merely as a trusted friend who could facilitate a transfer, not as a knowing money laundering participant. There is no evidence Farah knew the source of the funds. (3) Challenge the inferential nature of kickback-intent evidence — Ahmed testifies that checks with 'consulting' memo lines were kickbacks, but acknowledges he sometimes did brief informational meetings about the program. The consulting framing was real enough to him at the time that he used it without hesitation. (4) The 'everyone was doing it' testimony at page 2877-2878 could support a defense argument that the program environment was so normalized that defendants could not appreciate that what they were doing was fraudulent. (5) Ahmed was not present at many of the sites connected to the Empire defendants and has no firsthand knowledge of what food, if any, was served at those sites. (6) Ahmed's claim that Aimee Bock told him to 'overlook' the fake Dar Al-Farooq rosters is hearsay and also only speaks to Bock's knowledge, not the defendants'.

Key Evidence

Type	Exhibit	Description	Page	Challenge Opportunity
Document	Gov. Q-1	Email from Abdikerm Eidleh to Ahmed containing EIN letter for Southwest Metro Youth (Oct. 8, 2020), establishing the fake nonprofit's tax identification.	[p. 2787]	Establishes Eidleh's role, not necessarily any other defendant's knowledge or involvement.
Document	Gov. Q-3	Articles of Incorporation for Southwest Metro Youth, signed by Ahmed, filed October 21, 2020.	[p. 2789]	Limited relevance to any defendant other than Ahmed and Eidleh.
Document	Gov. Q-38	Email with attached meal count form for Southwest Metro Youth — February claims submitted March 5, 2021. Shows inflated weekly counts of 1,500-1,642 meals.	[p. 2794-2797]	Speaks only to Southwest Metro Youth operations, not to Empire/ThinkTechAct sites.
Document	Gov. Q-39	Meal count form for Southwest Metro Youth, week of March 7, 2021, claiming 2,500 meals per week.	[p. 2800-2801]	Same limited scope.
Document	Gov. Q-4	Email from Eidleh containing fake Hope Suppliers invoice to Ahmed — December 2020 invoice for groceries never purchased.	[p. 2805-2807]	Hope Suppliers is Eidleh's shell company — limited connection to Empire defendants.
Document	Gov. Q-40	Email from Bridge Logistics (another Eidleh shell company) to FOF claims email containing fake invoices totaling ~$18,000 for Southwest Metro Youth (March 31, 2021).	[p. 2807-2809]	Same — limited to Eidleh/Ahmed.
Financial Record	Gov. O-227	Wells Fargo bank account records for Southwest Metro Youth — shows $100,000 deposit in January 2021 and checks from FOF of $230,000 (Feb. 2021), $188,000 (March 2021), and $305,819 (May 2021).	[p. 2809-2813]	These are account records showing deposits, not proof that the underlying claims were false beyond Ahmed's own testimony.
Document	Gov. Q-23	Email from Eidleh to Ahmed with Articles of Incorporation for Mizal Consulting, LLC — Ahmed's shell company used to receive kickbacks.	[p. 2818]	Mizal Consulting was also used to receive legitimate FOF salary payments, making the consulting characterization harder to dismiss entirely as pure fabrication.
Financial Record	Gov. O-224 (Mizal Consulting account)	Wells Fargo account for Mizal Consulting showing kickback checks received: $127,000 from Actioncare (Ayan Abukar), $45,000 from Liban Alishir, $64,000 from Hope Suppliers, $26,000 from Northside Wellness Center. Also shows luxury spending: Ritz-Carlton Miami ($1,900), Fort Lauderdale hotel ($500), wire transfers to foreign companies.	[p. 2820-2824, 2917]	Ahmed had legitimate consulting income from FOF mixed into this account; the account conflates different income streams. Luxury spending does not independently prove the income was fraudulent.
Financial Record	Gov. Q-28	Check from Empire Cuisine & Market to Hadith Ahmed, $10,000, dated February 1, 2021, memo 'Consulting.'	[p. 2844-2845]	Ahmed cannot identify who specifically at Empire wrote or authorized the check. The 'consulting' memo is consistent with legitimate payment for introductory services (which Ahmed partially acknowledges he did provide). Foundation objection raised by Mr. Schleicher was partially sustained.
Financial Record	Gov. O-106 (p. 2390)	Check from Said Farah to Hadith Ahmed, $12,000, dated February 15, 2021, memo 'Loan.'	[p. 2847-2849]	The memo says 'Loan,' not consulting. Ahmed himself could not confirm Said Farah's connection to Empire. He says he was told to pick up the check at Bushra but cannot confirm who exactly directed him or Said Farah's knowledge of the purpose.
Financial Record	Gov. Q-31	Check from Bushra Wholesalers to Mizal Consulting, $65,250, dated July 25, 2021, memo 'Consulting,' signed by 'Said.'	[p. 2866-2867]	This is part of a financial statement already in evidence (O-106). Schleicher's foundation objection was raised and partially resolved — the connection to Empire was challenged because Ahmed earlier said Said Farah's sites 'were not under Feeding Our Future.' The government's framing linking this directly to Empire drew a partially sustained objection.
Financial Record	Gov. Q-33	Check from Bushra Wholesalers to Mizal Consulting, $35,000, dated September 9, 2021, memo 'Consulting.'	[p. 2869-2870]	Same as Q-31. The connection between Bushra payments and FOF claim processing is entirely through Ahmed's testimony — no documentary link between the check amounts and specific FOF claims.
Document	Gov. C-320	Email from Mukhtar Shariff to Aimee Bock (Dec. 18, 2020) — site transfer request form for Dar Al-Farooq Center, listed as 'Partners in Quality' site.	[p. 2838-2843]	Ahmed testified he thought it was 'already a site under Partners in Quality' based on the form, suggesting the transfer request may not have been accurate. This speaks to the confusion around which sponsor actually held the site.
Document	Gov. E-28	Email from Mahad Ibrahim (Mind Foundry) to Aimee Bock and Ahmed (March 4, 2021) — subject 'Dar Al-Farooq Counts Plus Attendance.' Included roster showing same children checkmarked every day for the entire month.	[p. 2852-2854, 2894-2895]	Bock's statement about fake names is hearsay from Ahmed. The document itself is the roster, which is ambiguous — same children attending every day is not inherently fraudulent.
Document	Gov. C-331	Email from Abdi Nur to Ahmed (CC: Abdiaziz Farah) containing ThinkTechAct Foundation invoice to FOF for Dar Al-Farooq, Al-Madinah, and 1506 Southcross totaling $801,750 for one month.	[p. 2858-2859]	Being copied on an email does not establish Farah reviewed it or knew the underlying meal counts were false. Abdi Nur, not Farah, is the sender. Foundation for connecting this to fraud beyond the number's size requires additional evidence.
Document	Gov. D-28	Email from Abdi Nur to Ahmed (May 31, 2021) attaching ThinkTechAct Foundation invoice to FOF — Dar Al-Farooq, Al-Madinah, 1506 Southcross — totaling $1,040,825 (over $1 million).	[p. 2860-2861]	Same as C-331 — Farah is not on this email. Connection to fraudulent intent requires inference that these amounts are implausible, but the government has not through Ahmed established what meals were or were not actually served at these sites.
Document	Gov. C-339	Email from Abdimajid to Mahad (Sept. 9, 2021) with ThinkTechAct invoice to FOF for Dar Al-Farooq totaling $532,918.40 — same date as the $35,000 Bushra check to Ahmed.	[p. 2871-2872]	Ahmed was no longer at FOF when this email was sent (he was fired). He has no direct knowledge of what happened at Dar Al-Farooq during this period.
Document	Gov. C-390	Email from Ahmed to FOF CACFP claims address and Aimee Bock (April 7, 2021) forwarding Abdiaziz Farah email containing 'Faribault Attendance March CACFP' — roster showing same children checkmarked every day for the entire month.	[p. 2896-2898]	Ahmed never visited the Faribault site and has no personal knowledge of whether those children actually attended. The same-child-every-day pattern could reflect a legitimate enrolled program where the same cohort consistently attended.
Document	Gov. Q-47	Email from Abdiaziz Farah to Ahmed and Mahad Ibrahim (April 26, 2021) — subject 'Empire Invoice 2021 Invoices,' forwarding invoices in response to MDE's invoice requirement.	[p. 2889-2890]	Ahmed testified that at this time he 'never looked at' the invoices and 'nobody cared' what they said. Farah submitting invoices when MDE requested them is exactly what a compliant operator would do.
Document	Gov. Q-46	Another email from Abdiaziz Farah to Ahmed (CC: Mahad Ibrahim, April 26, 2021) — subject 'Capital Invoice,' submitting additional invoices.	[p. 2891-2892]	Same as Q-47. Ahmed explicitly testified 'we never looked at it' and 'nobody cared' — the invoices were collected only to satisfy MDE's document request.
Document	Gov. Q-15	Email from Akram Elmi to Ahmed (Feb. 8, 2022) attaching a backdated 'Consulting Agreement' between Bushra Wholesale and Mizal Consulting — the fake agreement Ahmed signed after Abdiwahab's request.	[p. 2903-2905]	Ahmed was equally motivated to create this agreement to cover his own fraud. The agreement itself is not signed by any Empire defendant.
Document	Gov. Q-16	Email from Ahmed to Bushra Wholesalers (Feb. 13, 2022) attaching fake backdated invoices from Mizal Consulting — three invoices for 'staff training, site management' totaling $65,250 (matching the Bushra kickback checks).	[p. 2907-2910]	Ahmed created these himself. The challenge is connecting Abdiwahab Aftin (the person who requested them) to Empire defendants' knowledge and authorization.
Financial Record	Gov. Q-29	Cashier's check from Ahmed's account to Empire Enterprise for $139,000 (May 3, 2021) — Ahmed testified he gave this to Abdiaziz Farah to convert to cash in Kenya for land purchase.	[p. 2914-2916]	Ahmed frames this as asking a trusted business friend to facilitate a currency conversion, not a knowing money laundering transaction by Farah. There is no evidence Farah knew the funds were fraud proceeds.

Legal Rulings & Objections

⚖

Pre-trial: Government and Sapone (for Abdimajid Nur) agreed to exclude a recording of Ahmed and Abdimajid Nur discussing the scheme — the recording contained references to attorney communications. Andrew Birrell reserved his objection to the recording's admissibility on confrontation clause, hearsay, and co-conspirator scope grounds, but did not oppose the exclusion. — This recording exists and may have contained significant evidence — potentially exculpatory or inculpatory for Nur. Defense should seek to obtain this recording through discovery in any related proceeding. The government chose to exclude it, suggesting it was a close call or created risks for their case. [p. 2751-2752]

⚖

Defense requested the Court re-administer Preliminary Instruction 10 (individual consideration of evidence) given the sweeping cooperator testimony about pervasive FOF fraud. Judge Brasel agreed to consider it after hearing the testimony. — Defense was protecting against spillover prejudice from Ahmed's testimony about widespread FOF fraud. If instruction was given, it supports a continuing defense argument that each defendant's conduct must be evaluated individually. [p. 2753-2254]

⚖

Defense attorney Garvis requested the Court give 'Judge Rosenbaum's old snitch instruction' — an enhanced cooperating witness credibility instruction. Judge Brasel said she would look at it after the testimony. — The existence of an enhanced cooperating witness instruction was on the table. Defense counsel should determine whether this instruction was ultimately given and how it was worded — it could be a powerful limiting instruction in his trial. [p. 2753-2754]

⚖

Confrontation clause objection by Andrew Birrell: witness Hadith Ahmed initially appeared in a mask, and Birrell objected on Sixth Amendment confrontation grounds. Judge Brasel asked the witness if he minded removing it; he agreed. Issue mooted without ruling. — The Court was willing to accommodate the witness's health concerns but also was sensitive to the confrontation clause issue — the witness voluntarily removed the mask, avoiding a ruling. [p. 2756-2758]

⚖

Court instructed jury to read three model jury instructions after Ahmed's direct testimony concluded: (1) Eighth Circuit 2.14 — evidence admitted against only one defendant; (2) Criminal 2.19 — credibility of cooperating witness; (3) 4.05B — witness who has pleaded guilty. — Standard cooperating witness package. These instructions are useful for cross-examination framing and closing argument — they explicitly tell the jury to view cooperating witness testimony with caution. [p. 2816]

⚖

Multiple defense hearsay and foundation objections during direct examination — rulings were mixed: some overruled (hearsay when not offered for truth, foundation in some instances), one sustained on leading (jury instructed to disregard answer about 'nobody knows the difference'), several sustained on leading. — The Court was reasonably vigilant about leading and foundation issues. Defense counsel had some success in limiting speculation by Ahmed about others' knowledge. [p. 2875, 3068-3074]

⚖

Mr. Schleicher raised a foundation objection at sidebar to Q-31 (Bushra check linked to Empire), arguing that the government's framing of 'checks from people connected to Empire' was misleading because Ahmed earlier could not confirm Said Farah's connection to Empire. Court declined to exclude but indicated clarification would have to come through cross. — Important limitation: the government cannot definitively establish through Ahmed that Said Farah's Bushra payments were connected to Empire Foods fraud — this remains an inferential argument that defense can attack. [p. 2864-2866]

Prior Defense Performance

Defense cross of Ahmed by Schleicher was well-organized and methodical, effectively establishing Ahmed's deep personal culpability, his self-interested motive to cooperate, and his months-long delay in coming forward. The credibility attack was solid. However, cross was cut off by the 3:00 p.m. end of day, meaning the substantive challenge to Said Farah connections had not been reached. Several significant opportunities were left unexplored on the day: (1) No cross on the Kara Lomen / Partners in Nutrition references — Ahmed's framing of PIN as a parallel operation to FOF ('they never came to my sites, they never did a site supervision') could have been developed either to exculpate Lomen or to show that the PIN side of the program operated differently; (2) No challenge to Ahmed's characterization of the $139,000 Kenya check to Abdiaziz Farah — this is a key money laundering allegation that deserved immediate attack on Farah's knowledge; (3) No cross on the COVID waiver context — Ahmed described FOF as taking in 'restaurants, grocery stores, truck drivers' but no defense attorney attempted to establish that during the SFSP pandemic period, such broad participation was actually permitted by USDA waivers; (4) No cross on the roster issue from Ahmed's own vantage point — he testified that the requirement to submit rosters was a new requirement related to after-school programs, not summer open-site programs, but this distinction was not developed for the jury; (5) Birrell's objections on direct were mostly targeted foundation/hearsay objections, appropriate but not particularly creative; (6) No attorney asked Ahmed to explain the difference between his Southwest Metro Youth operations (pure fabrication) and the Empire/ThinkTechAct sites — whether he had any firsthand knowledge of what food those sites actually served.