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Trial I · US v. Farah

Vol XX

2024-05-21
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Day Overview

May 21, 2024 was consumed entirely by the direct examination of FBI forensic accountant Pauline Roase, who testified from pages 4734 to 5004. Roase traced money from Partners in Nutrition and Feeding Our Future through ThinkTechAct Foundation and Empire Cuisine & Market to real estate purchases, international wires to China and Kenya, and consulting payments to entities controlled by the defendants. She presented approximately fifteen sources-and-uses summary charts she created. The most significant moments were: (1) her testimony that of approximately $25 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program money that flowed through the Empire Cuisine & Market accounts, only about $3.1 million was categorized as food expense — and she acknowledged she was being conservative, crediting all food-adjacent spending regardless of whether it went to the program; (2) the revelation that Empire Enterprises was registered on April 5, 2021, a bank account was opened the next day, and the very next transaction was a $432,796 check from ThinkTechAct labeled 'CACFP food' — money that was used within days to buy lakefront lots in Prior Lake ($1.04 million) and wire funds to Capital View Properties in Nairobi, Kenya for five apartment units ($725,000 purchase price); and (3) evidence that Bushra Wholesalers' bank account was opened February 16, 2021, and within one week $80,000 had been wired to a Chinese tire company. Defense counsel made objections on relevance, leading, Rule 403, and foundation/701/702 grounds; all were largely overruled. No cross-examination occurred in this volume — Roase's direct examination will continue.

Government Strategy

The government devoted the entire day to Pauline Roase, an FBI forensic accountant, who served as their primary money-tracing witness. The strategy was to overwhelm the jury with financial data showing that approximately $49 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds were claimed by the defendants' network of 50 sites, that roughly $42 million was paid out by the sponsors, and that the money did not go to food. Roase walked through a cascade of sources-and-uses charts — for ThinkTechAct Foundation, Empire Cuisine & Market, Empire Enterprises, MIB Holdings, Bushra Wholesalers, BBI LLC, and St. Cloud Somali Athletic Club — all leading to the same conclusion: food nutrition money was diverted to real estate purchases (including a lakefront lot in Prior Lake, a house in Savage, and a home under construction in Ohio), foreign wire transfers to Kenya and China (tire companies, linen companies, a Nairobi apartment development), cryptocurrency, luxury goods, and consulting payments that circled among the defendants. The government also used Roase to connect the defendants to each other by showing money flowing between their entities, establishing a web linking Abdiaziz Farah (Empire Cuisine/Empire Enterprises), Mahad Ibrahim (ThinkTechAct/MIB Holdings), Abdimajid Nur (Nur Consulting), Mukhtar Shariff (Afrique Hospitality Group), Said Farah and Abdiwahab Aftin (Bushra Wholesalers/BBI LLC), and Hayat Mohamed Nur. The government framed the entire narrative around food money being converted to personal enrichment with essentially no legitimate program expenditure.

Strategic Notes for Defense Counsel

- PARTNERS IN NUTRITION IS THE KEY CHOKEPOINT: $18 million of the approximately $22 million that entered ThinkTechAct came from Kara Lomen's Partners in Nutrition. Lomen approved, processed, and issued every check. She has never been charged or interviewed by the FBI. The government is using her as a victim — a sponsor that was fooled. Defense counsel should investigate whether Lomen had knowledge of the claimed meal counts, what verification PIN performed before issuing payments, and whether PIN's own 'turn off the errors' text message (from prior volumes) shows she was facilitating rather than being defrauded. If Lomen was a knowing participant rather than an innocent victim, the entire government theory changes. - THE 701/702 RULING IS AN APPELLATE ISSUE: The Court allowed Roase to characterize multi-hop bank transfers as 'Federal Child Nutrition Program money' as lay testimony. This was a preserved objection by Mohring. The conclusion that specific dollars in Empire Cuisine's account were 'food program money' after passing through three intermediate entities involves analytical judgments beyond ordinary observation. Consider whether this was a reversible ruling on appeal if the clients are convicted. - ROASE'S FOOD EXPENSE ANALYSIS IS SELF-UNDERMINING: She credited Lincoln Trading halal meats (she testified matched the Empire Cuisine restaurant menu, not kids' program menus) and Capital Imports coffee/tea/syrups as 'food expense' in the program accounting. This means her conclusion that 'only $3.1 million went to food' already includes food she believes was not for the program. On cross, force her to separate restaurant-business food costs from program food costs — the $3.1 million figure may actually be the correct food cost for a restaurant doing $1 million in credit card sales annually. - ST. CLOUD SOMALI ATHLETIC CLUB MEAL COUNT TIMING IS DEVASTATING: Meal counts dated March 2021 for a site whose bank account was not opened until May 2021. This means either (a) the meal counts were fabricated retroactively, or (b) there was a different account or cash operation. Investigate whether there was a prior account, or whether Partners in Nutrition's CLiCS records show when this site was enrolled and when meals were actually entered. - COVID WAIVERS ARGUMENT WAS NEVER INTRODUCED IN THIS VOLUME: Roase never addressed the pandemic waiver framework. Her implicit assumption throughout is that the volume of claimed meals was implausible — but under USDA non-congregate, parental pickup, and extended operations waivers, high meal counts at distribution sites were explicitly authorized. Defense counsel must build a strong waiver defense for the next trial by finding expert testimony on USDA waiver scope and obtaining the actual waiver documents to rebut Roase's implicit implausibility argument.

Witnesses
Pauline Roase
FBI forensic accountant (CPA, formerly with Defense Contract Audit Agency) who joined the case in May 2021 and served as the primary money-tracing investigator, creating approximately 15 sources-and-uses charts summarizing thousands of bank account records across 3,000 total accounts examined.
FBI Government
Direct Examination

Roase testified to the overall methodology of the investigation (subpoenaing bank records, tracing money flows from sponsors through sites and LLCs), then walked through detailed sources-and-uses analyses of ThinkTechAct Foundation (received ~$22 million, 99% from Partners in Nutrition and Feeding Our Future, sent ~$15.4 million to Empire Cuisine/Enterprises with only $66,500 in direct food expense from that account), Empire Cuisine & Market (received ~$29.8 million, spent only ~$3.1 million on food), Empire Enterprises LLC (received ~$7 million, used $2.2 million on real estate, $1.1 million on foreign wires, $312,000 on food), MIB Holdings/Mahad Ibrahim ($2.1 million received in consulting payments, used to build a $900,000 home in Ohio), Bushra Wholesalers (~$4.8 million received, wired to China, to Capital View Kenya, to BBI LLC in Kentucky), BBI LLC (received funds from Empire Cuisine and Bushra, used to purchase commercial real estate in Kentucky, no food), and St. Cloud Somali Athletic Club ($562,000 in Partners in Nutrition money, 95% immediately transferred to Bushra Wholesalers and Afrique Hospitality Group, no food). She also presented Government Exhibits N-4 and N-5 showing 18,835,517 total meals claimed and $49,151,743.16 in total claims, of which $46 million was paid out and approximately $42 million passed to the defendants after sponsor cuts.

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Total meals claimed by the 50 defendants' sites: 18,835,517 meals. Total amount claimed: $49,151,743.16. Total paid out: approximately $46 million. After sponsor cut of 10-15%, approximately $42 million reached defendants. — The headline numbers — 18+ million meals claimed — are the core of the government's theory of massive fraud. These numbers come entirely from MDE CLiCS system data and depend on the premise that the meals were not actually served. [p. 4803]
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ThinkTechAct Foundation bank account (Mahad Ibrahim) was dormant at $197.82 from mid-2019 to February 10, 2021. On February 11, 2021, three checks from Partners in Nutrition totaling approximately $215,000 were deposited — the very first food program deposits. Over the following 11 months, $22 million in food program funds poured in. — Government uses dormancy narrative to argue the account had no legitimate activity before the food program, implying it was created purely to receive and launder program funds. Defense can challenge by exploring what other ThinkTechAct activities existed before the bank account was used. [p. 4764-4776]
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Of approximately $22 million deposited into the ThinkTechAct Foundation account in 11 months, $18 million came from Partners in Nutrition (Kara Lomen's organization) for Mind Foundry sites. Only $66,500 was categorized as direct food expense out of that account. — The government's strongest single statistic — $18 million paid by Partners in Nutrition to ThinkTechAct with virtually no food purchases traceable out of the account. This directly implicates Partners in Nutrition as the primary source of the alleged fraud proceeds. [p. 4775-4779]
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Empire Cuisine & Market received approximately $29.8 million total, of which approximately $25 million was Federal Child Nutrition Program money. Roase found approximately $3.1 million in food expenses — which she stated she was being 'conservative' on, crediting all food-adjacent vendors including Lincoln Trading (halal meat for the restaurant, not the program) and Capital Imports (coffee, tea, syrups). — Roase expressly acknowledged she credited food expenses generously — including things like restaurant-grade halal meats she testified were for Empire's restaurant menu, not the children's program. This creates substantial cross-examination material: the $3.1 million food figure may actually overstate legitimate program food costs. [p. 4819-4833]
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Empire Enterprises LLC was registered April 5, 2021. A bank account was opened April 6. The opening deposit — April 6 — was a $432,796 check from ThinkTechAct Foundation with memo line 'CACFP food.' Within nine days, $575,000 was wired from the account to buy a house at 15418 Hampshire Lane, Savage, MN (Abdiaziz Farah's house). Shortly after, $1,041,986 was paid as a cashier's check for two lakefront lots on Prior Lake, Minnesota (Candy Cove Trail), where Farah was building a home. — The timeline — registration, account opened, CACFP food check deposited, immediate real estate purchase — is the government's sharpest example of funds designated for food going directly to personal real estate. [p. 4843-4864]
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Empire Enterprises wired $204,795 to Capital View Properties Limited in Nairobi, Kenya (April 30 purchase agreement for 5 units of 4-bedroom apartments at ~$725,000), then $300,000 more (May 11), then $206,428 (June 1). Funding source traced back to ThinkTechAct 'CACFP food' checks. — Foreign real estate investment using child nutrition program funds. Abdiaziz Farah signed the purchase agreement. Government will use this as evidence of the scheme reaching beyond Minnesota. [p. 4862-4871]
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Empire Enterprises wired $197,789 to Prinx Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company in China (May 6, 2021) and $227,582 to Junan Lishun Arts and Crafts Company in China (May 14, 2021). Bushra Wholesalers wired $80,000 to the same tire company within days of its first deposits. Mohamed Ismail wired $199,785 from his personal account to Jiangxi Enda Linen Company in China. — Foreign wires to tire and linen companies in China represent the clearest non-food use of funds. Text messages show Abdiaziz Farah sending invoice for 'truck tires' to Said Farah the day before the Bushra wire — coordinating the transactions. [p. 4871-4923]
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Mahad Ibrahim (ThinkTechAct) received approximately $2.1 million in 'consulting' payments to MIB Holdings from Empire Cuisine, Bushra Wholesalers, Empire Enterprises, and Afrique Hospitality Group. He used those funds to build an approximately $900,000 custom home in Columbus, Ohio (paid $200,000 to 3 Pillar Homes), and spent on luxury goods, jewelry, and $30,000 in cryptocurrency. No food expense found. — The Columbus, Ohio location matters — Ibrahim moved there while still receiving food program money, with debit card transactions showing he spent most of 2021 in Ohio, not Minnesota. Prosecution paints this as an out-of-state participant in the scheme. [p. 4882-4897]
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St. Cloud Somali Athletic Club: bank account opened May 13, 2021. Yet meal count records (Gov. Ex. F-1i) showed 1,500 meals/day claimed for March 1-6, 2021 — two months before the account even existed. All $562,000 in deposits came from Partners in Nutrition; exactly 95% was immediately transferred to Bushra Wholesalers and Afrique Hospitality Group, with the entity retaining precisely 5%. — The pre-existence of meal count records before the bank account was opened is powerful fraud evidence. The exact 5%/95% split suggests a pre-arranged kickback structure. This is a serious evidentiary point with no innocent explanation yet offered. [p. 4997-5003]
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Abdimajid Nur submitted invoices for 'Kara Lomen at Partners in Quality Care' (i.e., Partners in Nutrition) for CACFP at-risk/afterschool programs. Invoice for March 2021 totaled $2,410,155; April 2021 invoice totaled $2,725,188.30. Nur also emailed invoices directly to Kara Lomen and Abdiaziz Farah (Gov. Ex. D-27) and sent copies to Mukhtar Shariff (Gov. Ex. D-35). — Nur's role as the operational submitter of claims and invoices, with Farah copied and Lomen as the recipient, establishes the operational chain. Lomen processed and paid these invoices — the government implies she did so knowing or not caring about whether the meal counts were genuine. [p. 4784-4788]
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Email from Abdiaziz Farah to Kara Lomen, Abdi Nur, Julius Scarver (PIN employee), Mahad Ibrahim, and Jodie Luzum (PIN employee) — forwarding Afro Produce invoices as backup documentation, with subject line 'Invoices, batch round 1.' Sent December 20, 2020. — Farah was sending produce invoices directly to Kara Lomen and Partners in Nutrition staff — this email is used to establish knowing coordination between Farah and the sponsor. However, it also shows that food purchase documentation was being provided to PIN, which cuts somewhat against the pure fraud narrative. [p. 4821]
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BBI LLC was organized in Louisville, Kentucky (March 22, 2021) by Abdifatah Aftin (brother of defendant Abdiwahab Aftin). Empire Cuisine deposited a $345,500 cashier's check into BBI's account on April 2, 2021 — a couple days after the account opened. BBI used $204,666 to purchase commercial real estate in Louisville. No food expense found in the BBI account. — BBI LLC connects the Kentucky-based brother of a defendant to the money flows, suggesting a multi-state network for dispersing proceeds. The commercial real estate purchase in Louisville is another layer of the alleged money laundering. [p. 4974-4979]
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On the Bushra Wholesalers accounts, Roase found that Abdiwahab Aftin wired $200,000 to Capital View Properties Limited in Nairobi, Kenya — the same real estate development to which Abdiaziz Farah wired funds from Empire Enterprises. The wire authorization form lists the purpose as 'supplies for Bushra Wholesale.' Aftin showed a driver's license to authorize the transfer. — Multiple defendants independently wiring funds to the same Nairobi real estate project strongly supports the conspiracy theory of coordinated action. The stated purpose ('supplies') was demonstrably false. [p. 4982-4983]
Cross-Examination

No cross-examination occurred in this volume. Roase's direct examination was not completed by adjournment at 4:57 p.m. Cross will begin in Vol XXI or later.

Vulnerabilities Roase presents several significant vulnerabilities that defense must exploit on cross. First, her food expense analysis ($3.1 million for Empire Cuisine) was self-described as 'conservative' — she credited Lincoln Trading halal meats and Capital Imports coffee/tea/syrups as 'food' even after testifying they did not match children's program menus. This inflates the appearance of fraud by crediting non-program food. Defense should force her to distinguish between restaurant food purchases (legitimate business expense) and program food purchases. Second, Roase has no firsthand knowledge of whether meals were actually served — she is a financial analyst, not a program monitor. She cannot testify to whether children received food; she can only testify to bank records. Third, her characterization of all food program money as 'Federal Child Nutrition Program money' throughout was objected to under Rules 701/702 (foundation/expert) by Mr. Mohring; the Court ruled it went to cross rather than foundation, meaning defense has latitude to challenge how she determined which funds qualified. Fourth, Roase described the USDA pandemic waiver period (COVID 2020-2021) as a period of 'concern' due to increased sites and claims, but she offered no testimony about whether the sites' operations were consistent with pandemic waiver rules (non-congregate, parent pickup, etc.) — her analysis simply assumes the claimed meal counts were fraudulent without addressing whether they could have been legitimate under COVID waivers. Fifth, the 'dormancy then activity' narrative she used for ThinkTechAct, MIB Holdings, and Bushra does not account for the fact that COVID-19 dramatically changed the program landscape in April 2020 — entities that had no prior food program activity would naturally show this pattern upon first enrollment. Sixth, Roase's conclusion that money 'did not go to food' never accounts for cash purchases — she only examined bank account withdrawals and checks, not cash-based food procurement. Seventh, she acknowledged Lincoln Trading purchases (halal meats matching the Empire Cuisine restaurant menu) were credited as food expense even though she believed they were for the restaurant, not the program — but she still counted them in the program-funded food expense total, muddying her own analysis.
For Defense Counsel On cross, Defense counsel should: (1) Establish that Roase has zero knowledge of program operations, what actually occurred at sites, or whether waivers permitted non-congregate distribution — her analysis is purely transactional, not probative of whether meals were served. (2) Challenge her categorization of Lincoln Trading and Capital Imports as 'food expense' — she included restaurant meat purchases in the program food total, which either inflates the food figure (helping defendants if food is what legitimately offsets the amounts) or shows the food expense categories were arbitrarily defined. (3) Explore whether any cash withdrawals from the accounts she examined could represent untracked food purchases. (4) Force her to concede that the 5% administrative fee retained by St. Cloud Somali Athletic Club is consistent with typical nonprofit administrative arrangements. (5) Challenge the conclusion that the COVID-era surge in sites and claims was inherently suspicious — the USDA explicitly expanded SFSP program access during COVID, and Roase admitted the program began in April 2020 (when pandemic waivers were first in place). (6) Address Kara Lomen's role: Lomen reviewed and approved the invoices, processed the claims, and paid out the $18 million from Partners in Nutrition — Roase should be asked what due diligence Lomen performed before issuing checks, since if Lomen was fooled, that is relevant to defendants' intent; if Lomen was complicit, that is a defense. (7) Establish that Partners in Nutrition (Lomen's organization) — not the defendants — was the entity with the legal obligation to verify claims before submitting to MDE and before paying sites.
Key Evidence
Type Exhibit Description Page Challenge Opportunity
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. N-4 Chart created by Roase from CLiCS MDE data showing total meals claimed for each of 50 sites month-by-month from April 2020 to February 2022. Grand total: 18,835,517 meals claimed. [p. 4798-4800] N-4 shows 'meals claimed' as entered in CLiCS — it does not establish the meals were not served. It depends entirely on the credibility of the government's underlying fraud theory. Defense should challenge whether the CLiCS data was reconciled against pandemic waiver rules for open sites, where individual counts were not required.
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. N-5 Dollar-amount version of N-4 — same 50 sites, same period, showing total dollar amounts claimed. Grand total: $49,151,743.16 claimed; approximately $46 million paid out. [p. 4801-4803] Same as N-4 — amounts claimed do not establish fraud without independent evidence that the meals were not served. Also, the government acknowledged sponsors retained 10-15%, meaning defendants received approximately $42 million, not $49 million.
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. M-30 Sources and uses chart for ThinkTechAct Foundation bank account at U.S. Bank, September 2018 to January 2022. Sources: $18 million from Partners in Nutrition, $3.7 million from Feeding Our Future, misc. Uses: $15.4 million to Empire Cuisine/Enterprise, $1.7 million to Afrique Hospitality, $1.4 million to Bushra Wholesalers, $66,500 direct food expense. [p. 4770-4779] The $15.4 million sent to Empire Cuisine is labeled as 'CACFP food' in the memo lines — Roase acknowledged she needed to trace those funds further to find food. A full picture requires seeing what Empire Cuisine did with that money. The chart's conclusion that there was only $66,500 in food expense from this account ignores that food purchases were expected to occur downstream at Empire Cuisine.
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. M-13a Combined sources and uses chart for three Empire Cuisine & Market bank accounts, May 2020 to April 2022. Sources: approximately $29.8 million total, mostly Federal Child Nutrition Program. Uses: approximately $3.1 million in food expense (generous/conservative categorization), $4.4 million seized by FBI, personal account transfers exceeding food expense, and $1.9 million to defendants' other entities. [p. 4814-4841] Roase admitted she included restaurant food costs (halal meats, teas, coffee, syrups) in the $3.1 million, even though those were for the restaurant business, not the program. Separating restaurant food expenses from program food expenses would likely reduce the $3.1 million figure. Additionally, the account was open for approximately two years and Empire Cuisine had a legitimate restaurant business generating $1 million in credit card sales — those food costs should be attributed to the restaurant, not the program.
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. M-13z Combined sources and uses chart for Empire Enterprises LLC bank accounts, April 2021 to January 2022. Sources: $7 million total, predominantly food program money. Uses: $2.2 million real estate/construction, $1.2 million seized, $1.1 million foreign transfers, $740,000 to defendants' other entities, $312,000 food expense. [p. 4849-4858] The company was only open ~8 months; the construction/real estate spending was for property that could be characterized as legitimate business investment. The 'food expense' sub-chart (M-13zj) shows only $312,000 was categorized as food even by conservative standards.
Document Gov. Ex. D-16 Email chain from Abdimajid Nur to Mahad Ibrahim and Abdiaziz Farah (March 31/April 4, 2021) containing Google Drive links to invoices for Mind Foundry sites, plus invoice from Mind Foundry Learning Foundation to Kara Lomen at Partners in Nutrition for CACFP at-risk/afterschool, March 2021 — total invoice $2,410,155. [p. 4783-4786] The email is from Nur to Ibrahim and Farah — Farah is a board member of ThinkTechAct and would receive routine program communications. Receiving an invoice copy is consistent with innocent business oversight. Defense should explore whether Farah had any role in generating the underlying meal counts.
Document Gov. Ex. D-27 Email from Abdi Nur to Kara Lomen at Partners in Nutrition (copied Abdiaziz Farah) dated May 31, 2021 — subject 'CACFP attendance and invoice.' Contains Google Drive links and invoice for April 2021 CACFP at-risk/afterschool, total $2,725,188.30. [p. 4787-4788] This is the normal billing process — a site submitting invoices to its sponsor. Lomen's role as recipient and payer is the critical gap: she processed and paid these invoices. Defense should argue Lomen bears responsibility for verification and that the defendants believed their claims were compliant.
Document Gov. Ex. D-35 Email from Abdimajid Nur to Mukhtar Shariff (copied Mahad Ibrahim) dated September 15, 2021 — subject 'Dar Al-Farooq updated meal counts and invoice.' Includes invoice claiming 101,780 meals at $5.92 for $602,537.60 and meal counts showing 3,875 meals prepared and served every day, signed by 'Mukhtar.' [p. 4793-4795] Dar Al-Farooq is a large mosque complex that could plausibly serve many people during the pandemic under non-congregate distribution waivers. Defense should challenge whether 3,875 is implausible under the pandemic model where parents pick up meals for multiple children and packaged distribution could reach large numbers. The USDA non-congregate waiver specifically contemplated high-volume distribution from institutional sites.
Document Gov. Ex. H-51a Text message exchange between Abdimajid Nur and Abdiaziz Farah — Farah sends a letter from Absa Bank Kenya (the bank receiving the Capital View wire transfers), demonstrating his knowledge of the Kenya real estate transactions. [p. 4441-4446] Context matters — is Farah forwarding a bank confirmation as part of a legitimate personal investment, or coordinating with Nur about the use of program funds? The government needs to show he knew the funds came from the food program.
Document Gov. Ex. H-51e WhatsApp exchange between Abdimajid Nur and Abdiaziz Farah (June 8, 2021) — Farah texts: 'checks are ready. Give the Bushra check to Abdiwahab.' [p. 5001] A single text message about delivering a check. Context of 'checks are ready' is ambiguous — could refer to multiple check types. Defense should establish what the Bushra checks were labeled for and whether they appeared facially legitimate.
Document Gov. Ex. J-160 Brochure and purchase agreement for Capital View Properties Limited in Nairobi, Kenya — Abdiaziz Farah entered into a purchase agreement dated April 30, 2021 for 5 units of 4-bedroom apartments at 72.5 million Kenya shillings (~$725,000). Page 16 lists partners including Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin and Abdifatah Maalim Aftin. [p. 4866-4868] Personal real estate investment in Kenya is not inherently illegal. The question is whether the funds used were program funds. Government must trace the wire amounts back to food program source accounts — which Roase did, following the CACFP food-labeled checks from ThinkTechAct to Empire Enterprises.
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. M-10 Combined sources and uses chart for Bushra Wholesalers LLC bank accounts (~$4.8 million total). Sources: food program money from ThinkTechAct, Empire Cuisine, Partners in Nutrition, and other defendants' entities. Uses: foreign transfers ~$640,000, to BBI LLC in Kentucky ~$380,000, to MIB Holdings (Mahad Ibrahim) ~$570,000, to defendants' other entities ~$942,000, to Lafey Plaza (Said Farah) $152,000. [p. 4927-4987] Bushra Wholesalers was ostensibly a food wholesaler — the question is whether any of its activity involved genuine food supply for the program. Roase did not testify to investigating whether Bushra actually supplied any food products.
Data/Summary Gov. Ex. M-27 Sources and uses chart for St. Cloud Somali Athletic Club account at Wells Fargo. Sources: $562,185.50, 100% from Partners in Nutrition. Uses: $273,214 to Bushra Wholesalers, $260,820 to Afrique Hospitality Group — exactly 95% of PIN receipts. No food expense. [p. 5002-5003] The 5% administrative retention is actually consistent with standard nonprofit program administration fees. Defense should argue this was a legitimate fee structure; the redistribution to Bushra and Afrique may represent legitimate vendor payments.
Legal Rulings & Objections
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Rule 403 objection by Mr. Cotter to testimony about Safari Restaurant (a different group not on trial). The Court overruled after sidebar, asking Thompson to clarify for the jury that Safari was a different group. Thompson complied. — Court allowed the Safari Restaurant comparison to give context to Roase's investigative methodology. Defense did not succeed in excluding the broader fraud narrative. Future defense teams should consider a motion in limine to exclude non-defendant entities from the forensic accountant's overview testimony. [p. 4744-4745]
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Rule 701/702 objection by Mr. Mohring (attorney for one of the defendants) to Roase's conclusion that money flowing through Empire Enterprises was 'Federal Child Nutrition Program money.' Objected on foundation and expert witness grounds. Court overruled, holding the testimony went to cross-examination, not foundation or expert qualification. Court declined a continuing objection, requiring objection each time. — The government treated Roase as a lay summary witness under FRE 1006/701 rather than an expert. The Court's ruling that her money-tracing conclusions were lay testimony (not expert) is potentially challengeable on appeal, as characterizing whether specific funds in multi-hop bank transfers constitute 'federal program money' involves actuarial/accounting analysis beyond ordinary lay observation. Defense preserved the objection but Court denied continuing objection relief. [p. 4851-4876]
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Objection to Thompson's leading question 'A lot of meals?' after Roase stated the 18.8 million total. Court sustained as leading and argumentative. — Minimal significance but shows court was willing to police leading questions during this direct. [p. 4800-4801]
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Foundation/701/702 objection by Mohring to Roase speculating about why new entities were created in February 2021. Court sustained as to foundation. — The Court drew a line at Roase offering conclusions about motive/causation — she can describe bank records but not conclude why defendants acted as they did. Defense should pursue this line aggressively on cross to limit her to financial observation, not fraud conclusions. [p. 4917-4918]
Prior Defense Performance

Defense counsel objected frequently but unsuccessfully. The most substantive defense work in this volume was Mr. Mohring's 701/702 objection regarding Roase's characterization of money as 'Federal Child Nutrition Program money' — a legitimate structural challenge to treating a forensic accountant's money-tracing conclusions as lay testimony. The Court overruled but Mohring preserved the objection. The Cotter 403 objection about Safari Restaurant (different group) led to a clarification but was ultimately overruled. Defense counsel largely allowed the government to build its narrative unchallenged. Several significant missed opportunities: (1) No cross was yet conducted, but defense counsel should prepare to challenge Roase's food expense methodology — she acknowledged including non-program food costs (restaurant meats, coffee, tea) in the 'food expense' total, which both inflates apparent food expense and confuses program vs. restaurant accounting. (2) Defense should have explored more at sidebar whether the sources-and-uses charts (M-30, M-13a, etc.) qualified as expert summaries under FRE 702 rather than lay summaries under FRE 1006 — the methodology of categorizing expenses and tracing multi-hop fund flows involves expertise, not just arithmetic. (3) No challenge was made to whether Roase's assumption that CLiCS data reflects 'claimed' meals accurately captures what MDE actually processed — CLiCS data entry rules and any pending claims vs. approved claims distinctions were not explored. (4) Defense should note for cross that Roase has never visited any of the 50 sites, has no knowledge of what occurred operationally at any site, and cannot testify to whether children received meals.