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Trial I · US v. Farah

Vol XXIV

2024-05-28
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Day Overview

Volume XXIV opened with cross-examination of FBI forensic accountant Lacramioara Blackwell by four defense attorneys (Sapone for Abdimajid Nur, Cotter for Mohamed Ismail, Kettwick for Hayat Nur, and Goetz for Mukhtar Shariff), followed by government redirect and recross. The government rested at page 5726. The balance of the session covered Rule 29 motions for judgment of acquittal by all seven defense teams, the government's response, and the court's denial of all motions. The court then conducted individual on-the-record colloquies with six of the seven defendants confirming their decisions not to testify (Mukhtar Shariff's waiver was deferred). Six defense teams rested without calling witnesses; only Goetz (Shariff) announced plans to call witnesses beginning the next morning, including Dr. Paul Vaalar, investors in Afrique, a Sysco representative, Dar Al-Farooq mosque representatives, and a defense forensic accountant (Jill DeSanto) to testify about food-production and meal-count analysis. The most significant moments were: (1) Goetz's cross of Blackwell exposing that her money-tracing charts omitted $886,000 in investment income and $300,000+ in landlord improvement allowances as sources of Afrique construction funds; (2) Goetz's Rule 29 argument that the $250,000 cashier's check to Ikram Mohamed lacked proof of quid pro quo and did not fit the cooperating-witness-described bribe pattern; and (3) the government reading text message Exhibit H-54i referencing 'whatever Kara got' — Kara Lomen — 'is a piece of cake,' which places Lomen in the middle of the bribery/kickback narrative.

Government Strategy

This was the final day of the government's case. The government used the continuation of Lacramioara Blackwell's cross-examination to reinforce its money-laundering narrative — tracing food-program funds from Partners in Nutrition and Feeding Our Future through a web of entities into the Afrique Hospitality Group renovation project, as well as into vehicles and overseas wire transfers. On redirect, the government rehabilitated Blackwell's FIFO methodology, re-emphasized that over $973,000 in federal child nutrition funds was traceable to Afrique construction costs, and confirmed Abdimajid Nur's status as account signatory on the Empire Enterprises account used to send a wire to Capital View Properties in Kenya. The government rested at page 5726, then successfully defended all Rule 29 motions by the standard argument that the evidence, viewed favorably to the government, was sufficient on every count.

Strategic Notes for Defense Counsel

- The government's Afrique money-laundering case has a significant methodological hole: Blackwell's FIFO tracing charts deliberately exclude over $1 million in non-program construction funding (landlord improvement allowance + net investment income), and there is a $447,102 counterflow from Afrique back to Empire Enterprises that she omitted from her demonstratives. A defense forensic accountant using LIFO or proportional attribution methodology could materially change the sourcing narrative for the jury. - Kara Lomen of Partners in Nutrition appears in a prosecution-cited text message (H-54i, April 2021) in which she is referenced as having 'gotten' something in a way that is grouped with kickback references to Ikram Mohamed. Lomen controlled the submission of $1.17 million in program claims between October-November 2021, has never been charged, and has never been interviewed by the FBI. In any future trial where she is a witness or where Partners in Nutrition money is at issue, her uncharged status, her access to the claim submission system, and her 'turn off the errors' text message should be developed aggressively. - The $250,000 cashier's check to Ikram Mohamed (Counts 13/15 against Shariff) has a documented partial 'loan repayment' ($59,000 check) flowing back from Mohamed to Afrique in the record, which is the only documentary evidence of the payment's purpose. Defense should investigate whether a full loan agreement exists and whether the remaining balance was repaid or offset. - On Count 34 (Hayat Nur, Nissan Altima money laundering), the cosigner-vs-co-owner distinction the government draws is legally thin but survived Rule 29. For future similar counts, the defense should anticipate this argument and develop evidence (monthly payment records, insurance, registration, vehicle use) early, ideally through bank record stipulations before trial. - The court's ruling on passive receipt of email as sufficient for wire fraud participation (Count 12 / Said Farah) is a dangerous precedent for any defendant in a related scheme. For any client who received emails containing scheme-related invoices or communications, Defense counsel should be prepared to distinguish between passive receipt and active furtherance, and should consider pre-trial motions attacking this theory of liability before trial begins.

Witnesses
Lacramioara Blackwell
FBI forensic accountant who traced financial flows from federal food program funds through multiple entities; the government's primary financial witness on money-laundering counts.
IRS/Forensic Government
Direct Examination

Direct examination occurred in a prior volume. In this volume the government's redirect re-established that Blackwell traced over $973,000 in federal child nutrition program funds (from Partners in Nutrition and Feeding Our Future) into the Afrique Hospitality Group construction project using a FIFO methodology. She confirmed Abdimajid Nur was a co-signatory on the Empire Enterprises account from which a $206,428 wire was sent to Capital View Properties in Kenya (Count 29 money laundering). She also confirmed that Hayat Nur was a co-owner of the Nissan Altima that is the subject of Count 34.

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Blackwell testified that over $973,000 in federal child nutrition program funds was traceable to Afrique Hospitality Group construction costs: $732,195 via the Partners in Nutrition chain (N-135b) and an additional $240,075 from Empire Cuisine & Market (N-135a). — This is the government's central money-laundering proof linking food fraud proceeds to the Afrique project — the most visible alleged asset in the scheme. [p. 5723-5724]
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Blackwell confirmed Abdimajid Nur and Abdiaziz Farah were both authorized signatories on the Empire Enterprises LLC account (opened April 6, 2021) from which a $206,428 wire was sent to Capital View Properties in Nairobi, Kenya on June 1, 2021 (Exhibit L-29, corresponding to Count 29). — The government used account signatory status to tie Abdimajid Nur to the international wire transfer even though Blackwell could not confirm Nur personally initiated the wire. [p. 5719-5721]
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Blackwell confirmed that Hayat Nur and Abdimajid Nur are both listed as owners of the 2019 Nissan Altima on Department of Public Safety records (Exhibit J-103), which is the subject of Count 34. — Government's theory is that co-ownership (not just cosigning) is sufficient to sustain a money laundering count. [p. 5721]
Cross-Examination

Cross-examination by four defense attorneys was wide-ranging and produced several significant concessions. Sapone elicited that Nur did not personally initiate the wire transfers and was merely an account signer; Cotter established Ismail made no concealment-style transactions; Kettwick isolated Hayat Nur's role in the Nissan as purely cosigner and showed she drove and paid for her own separate RAV4; and Goetz most effectively attacked the methodology and completeness of Blackwell's Afrique fund-tracing charts, exposing omitted non-program sources of construction money and raising the fungibility problem with FIFO.

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Blackwell admitted she could not confirm Abdimajid Nur personally initiated the $206,428 wire to Capital View Properties: 'The originator of the wire is the entity... Empire Enterprises LLC initiated the wire.' She also acknowledged Nur was not the beneficiary. — Direct impeachment of the theory that account-signatory status equals personal initiation of a wire. Defense can argue co-signatory status is insufficient for aiding-and-abetting wire money laundering where no evidence shows the individual took any act. [p. 5725]
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Blackwell acknowledged her fund-tracing charts for Afrique (N-135a and N-135b) did not include the $886,000 in investment income (or the corrected ~$600,000 net figure after return of investment) nor the $300,000+ landlord improvement allowance (Bridgewater Bank / 1701 American Blvd LLC) as sources of construction funds. She confirmed both were not federal child nutrition program funds. — The defense can argue the charts mislead the jury by presenting only program-fund flows while ignoring the substantial non-fraudulent sources of Afrique construction money — raising reasonable doubt about whether the specific dollars that went into Afrique were traceable food program funds versus legitimate investment or landlord funds. [p. 5700-5709]
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Blackwell agreed that under LIFO (last-in, first-out) rather than FIFO (first-in, first-out), the tracing result 'could be completely different.' She confirmed she chose FIFO based on her own judgment about which was 'most appropriate.' — The FIFO methodology is an analytical choice, not a legal requirement. A defense forensic expert using LIFO might reach opposite conclusions about which dollars funded Afrique construction. [p. 5703-5704]
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Blackwell admitted that nine days after Empire Cuisine & Market sent $240,075 to West Title (into the Afrique project), $447,102.42 flowed out of Afrique Hospitality Group back to Empire Enterprises LLC — a counterflow she omitted from her charts. — This reverse flow undercuts the narrative that program money was permanently laundered into the Afrique project; it shows money also moved in the opposite direction and the net picture is more complex than the government's demonstratives suggest. [p. 5698-5699]
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Blackwell confirmed that all of Abdimajid Nur's personally traced transactions (car payoff via Nur Consulting check, Dodge of Burnsville payment, jewelry purchase) showed no concealment — his name, accounts, and signatures were used openly with no straw purchasers. — Undermines the government's money laundering narrative for Nur; the absence of concealment is a core element of the defense argument. [p. 5673-5678]
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Regarding the $250,000 cashier's check from Afrique/Mukhtar Shariff to Ikram Mohamed (L-15), Blackwell confirmed that Ikram Mohamed's bank records include a subsequent $59,000 check memo'd 'loan repayment' back to Afrique — suggesting a loan, not a bribe. — This is the only documentary evidence in the record of the purpose of the $250,000 payment; it is facially consistent with a loan, not a kickback, and directly undermines Count 13 (bribery). [p. 5711-5714]
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Blackwell confirmed that Mukhtar Shariff's name does not appear on the purchase documents for any of the Boyer Trucks (Exhibits J-120, J-121, J-122) and no money from Afrique Hospitality Group or A&E Logistics accounts was used to buy those trucks. — Distances Shariff from the truck purchases that were used to demonstrate the logistics arm of the alleged fraud. [p. 5715-5717]
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Blackwell confirmed Hayat Nur made only three traced car payments on the Nissan Altima (the last one being the $3,000 payment in August 2021), was not the primary loan applicant, did not pay insurance or maintenance, did not drive it, and had her own separate paid-off RAV4 purchased in 2018 with a $15,000 down payment. — Substantially weakens Count 34; the government's co-ownership theory depends entirely on Hayat being listed as a cosigner on a car that all evidence shows her brother exclusively used and paid for. [p. 5685-5694]
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Blackwell confirmed Abdimajid Nur was not an owner of Empire Cuisine & Market (she corrected herself on direct when she said he was), was not involved in the Capital View Properties investment in Kenya, was not a signer on The Free Minded Institute or ThinkTechAct accounts, and his name did not appear on the apartment complex development project. — Multiple distancing concessions; the prior direct testimony included an error that was corrected, providing impeachment material for closing argument. [p. 5672-5675]
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Blackwell conceded the federal child nutrition program is a reimbursement program — entities that spent money on food first were entitled to reimbursement — and that $135,821.18 spent by Afrique Hospitality Group toward Sysco (food supplier) before the end of June 2021 would, if spent on food for the program, be a reimbursable expense. — Opens the door for the defense argument that Afrique's spending on Sysco represented legitimate program costs being reimbursed, and that the government's 'fraud proceeds' framing is incomplete. [p. 5704-5705]
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Blackwell confirmed that the Mahad Ibrahim in the Afrique architectural contracts (J-177) is listed as CFO and Owner across multiple pages, and is not a defendant in this case: 'Today is not Mr. Ibrahim's day in court.' — Ibrahim — the principal of ThinkTechAct and CFO of Afrique — is the key uncharged actor central to the money flow. His absence from the defendant list raises the question of whether the charged defendants were more peripheral participants. [p. 5709-5711]
Vulnerabilities Blackwell is methodologically vulnerable on multiple fronts. Her FIFO tracing methodology is an unchallengeable choice only if not contested by a competing expert — using LIFO the entire analysis could yield different attribution. Her demonstrative charts (N-135a, N-135b) are deliberately selective: they show only federal program money flowing in, omitting the $300,000+ landlord improvement allowance, the ~$600,000 net investment income, and the large reverse flow of $447,102 out of Afrique back to Empire Enterprises nine days after the government's traced deposit. Her background (law degree in Romania, Romanian National Police, then FBI forensic accountant) is solid on credentials but she has never worked in the private sector or participated in a commercial build-out project, making her susceptible to cross on commercial real estate funding structures. She made a self-corrected error on direct (calling Abdimajid Nur an owner of Empire Cuisine), which is an impeachment touchstone for closing. She conceded she does not know who actually initiated the wire transfers — only that the entity sent them and Nur was a signatory. She is not an expert witness (she confirmed she is a fact witness), limiting the opinions she can offer. No regulatory characterizations appeared in this portion of the transcript.
For Defense Counsel Defense counsel should retain a competing forensic accountant to run LIFO analysis on the Afrique fund flows and present an alternative source attribution chart for the jury. The $447,102 counterflow from Afrique to Empire Enterprises should be foregrounded — it is an omitted fact from the government's demonstratives that suggests the relationship was commercial reciprocity, not one-way laundering. The landlord improvement allowance and investment income sources together represent over $1 million in non-program construction funding that the government's charts ignore, directly undermining the 'overwhelmingly' language Blackwell used. For any defendant linked solely through account-signatory status, cross must establish not just that they signed on the account but that there is no evidence they authorized, initiated, or had advance knowledge of the specific wire. The 'loan repayment' notation on Ikram Mohamed's return check to Afrique is powerful evidence to develop — consider whether any additional documentation exists (loan agreements, communications) showing the $250,000 was in fact a loan.
Key Evidence
Type Exhibit Description Page Challenge Opportunity
Document Gov. Ex. L-29 Wire transfer record showing $206,428 sent June 1, 2021 from Empire Enterprises LLC to Capital View Properties Limited in Nairobi, Kenya. Admitted through Blackwell on redirect. [p. 5718-5719] Blackwell admitted she cannot confirm Nur personally initiated the wire. The entity sent it, not Nur. Defense should explore who at Empire Enterprises actually authorized and executed the wire, and whether any evidence places Nur at a computer or phone at the time of the transaction.
Document Gov. Ex. O-219 Bank of America records for Ikram Mohamed's account, showing the $250,000 cashier's check (L-15) was deposited on August 5, 2021 — the same day the account was opened — and a subsequent $59,000 check from Mohamed back to Afrique Hospitality Group memo'd 'loan repayment.' [p. 5712-5714] The government will argue the loan framing is a cover story; Goetz should obtain any loan documentation and explore whether any signed loan agreement exists between Afrique and Mohamed.
Data/Summary Demonstrative N-135a and N-135b Two government demonstrative charts prepared by Blackwell tracing federal child nutrition program funds from Partners in Nutrition and Feeding Our Future through intermediary accounts into Afrique Hospitality Group construction. N-135b shows $732,195; N-135a shows an additional $240,075 from Empire Cuisine & Market. [p. 5697-5700] These charts selectively omit the landlord improvement allowance (at least $300,000 from Bridgewater Bank / 1701 American Blvd LLC), approximately $600,000 net in investment income (from M-6), and the $447,102 counterflow from Afrique back to Empire Enterprises nine days after the government-traced deposit. A defense expert running LIFO methodology could potentially attribute the Afrique funds to the non-program sources first. The demonstratives are not in evidence as substantive exhibits — they are demonstrative only.
Document Def. Ex. D8-49 and D8-54 Loan application and related documents for Hayat Nur's 2018 Toyota RAV4, showing she applied for and paid for her own vehicle starting in 2018 with a $15,000 down payment. Stipulated into evidence by the government. [p. 5690] None — government stipulated to admission.
Document Gov. Ex. H-54i (referenced but not separately admitted in this volume) Text message from April 2021 reading: 'Mahad and Hadith have no option. It was more money than they get. For Ikram, she eats on all sides. She did all that was requested of her. After seeing Feeding Our Future, whatever Kara got — Kara Lomen — is a piece of cake participant. Eidleh apparently eats too. I love that you found this out.' [p. 5740] The sender and recipient of this text are not identified on the face of the record as quoted in this volume. It is double or triple hearsay as described. The reference to Kara Lomen is ambiguous — 'whatever Kara got' could refer to anything, not necessarily a bribe. Lomen has never testified, has never been charged, and has never been interviewed by the FBI despite being described as central to this text. If Lomen appears in a future trial, this text should be thoroughly examined for context, sender identity, and the basis for the prosecutor's interpolation that 'Kara got' refers to kickbacks.
Document Gov. Ex. J-177 Architectural services contract for the Afrique Hospitality Group project listing Mahad Ibrahim as CFO/Owner across multiple pages and Mukhtar Shariff as CEO/Owner on other pages, and Mohamed Omar as Chairman. [p. 5709-5711] A CFO routinely signs financial contracts; the document does not establish Shariff's knowledge of how the construction was being funded. Ibrahim's prominent role and non-prosecution is a major question mark that defense should highlight for any future jury.
Legal Rulings & Objections
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Rule 29 motions for judgment of acquittal denied as to all defendants on all counts. The court applied the standard of viewing evidence in the light most favorable to the government and found sufficient evidence for a guilty verdict on all counts. — All counts survived for jury deliberation. The court gave particular attention to Count 12 (wire fraud / Said Farah), Counts 13 and 15 (bribery / Mukhtar Shariff), and Count 34 (money laundering / Hayat Nur). The court's oral Rule 29 ruling on the bribery counts is notably thin — the court simply invoked the deferential standard without detailed analysis — which may preserve the issue for appeal. The Count 34 issue for Hayat Nur (passive cosigner vs. co-owner) was also denied summarily. [p. 5743]
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Defendant exhibits D8-49 and D8-54 (Hayat Nur's RAV4 loan documents) admitted without objection on government stipulation during Kettwick's cross-examination of Blackwell. — Defense established a clean evidentiary record that Hayat Nur had her own legitimate vehicle predating the alleged scheme, supporting the argument that the Nissan Altima was exclusively her brother's. [p. 5690]
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Government Exhibit O-219 (Ikram Mohamed's Bank of America records showing deposit of $250,000 cashier's check and subsequent 'loan repayment' check back to Afrique) admitted without objection on defense motion during Goetz's cross of Blackwell. — A defense attorney successfully moved in a government exhibit that supports the defense bribery theory. This is a significant tactical move — the 'loan repayment' notation is now in evidence and squarely before the jury as the only documented explanation of the $250,000 payment. [p. 5712-5713]
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Court denied Count 12 Rule 29 motion (wire fraud, Said Farah) notwithstanding defense argument that Farah was a passive recipient of an email sent three days post-search warrant and that the case agent testified Farah did not cause or transmit the communication. — The court accepted the government's theory that passive receipt of a scheme-related email can constitute wire fraud participation. This is a significant ruling for any future defendant in a related case — passivity is not a defense to wire fraud under this court's analysis. [p. 5728-5743]
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Six of seven defendants (all except Mukhtar Shariff) placed on record their decisions not to testify, waiving their right to testify. All six requested the Eighth Circuit Model Instruction 3.08 regarding the right not to testify. Mukhtar Shariff's waiver was deferred pending the outcome of other defense witnesses. — The defense case would consist only of Goetz's witnesses for Shariff, including an expert on food production/meal counts (Jill DeSanto), investors in Afrique, a Sysco representative, Dar Al-Farooq mosque witnesses, and attorney Jake Steen from Larkin Hoffman on the Afrique project. [p. 5744-5762]
Prior Defense Performance

The four defense attorneys who cross-examined Blackwell in this volume performed at varying levels. Goetz (Shariff) delivered the most technically effective cross — he methodically attacked the FIFO methodology, exposed the omitted non-program fund sources for Afrique construction, drew out the $447,102 counterflow omitted from the government's charts, established that Shariff's name appeared nowhere on the Boyer Truck purchase documents, introduced the 'loan repayment' Bank of America records (O-219) as a defense exhibit, and raised the landlord improvement allowance issue. This was well-prepared and targeted the government's financial narrative at its most vulnerable points. Sapone (Abdimajid Nur) was effective in establishing the absence of concealment and personally-attributable conduct — methodically walking through each transaction and getting the 'no concealment, no straw man, no personal initiation' admissions. Kettwick (Hayat Nur) was efficient and focused, establishing through clean fact-by-fact questioning that Hayat's role in the Nissan was purely as cosigner and that she had no involvement in any car-related payment. Cotter (Ismail) was the weakest of the four — several questions were imprecise ('do you recall testifying about that transaction' questions where Blackwell correctly noted she hadn't testified to them), and the most significant point (Ismail's wire transfers of over $500,000) was raised awkwardly and then retreated from. What was missed: no defense attorney challenged the regulatory framework of the food programs — no questions about COVID-19 waivers, SFSP open site rules, or whether the meals that generated the reimbursement flows were actually verified as fraudulent. The cross treated the underlying fraud as a given and focused only on the money side, which concedes the premise. A bolder approach for future trials would include asking Blackwell whether she verified the underlying meal counts were fraudulent (she almost certainly did not) before tracing the proceeds.