Vol I
Volume I covers the opening administrative session of Trial 2 on February 3, 2025, before Judge Nancy E. Brasel. The session consisted of counsel appearances, identification of FBI agents present (Special Agent Jared Kary, Forensic Accountant Pauline Roase, and Agent Travis Wilmer), and a Frye/Lafler colloquy confirming on the record that both defendants — Aimee Marie Bock and Salim Ahmed Said — knowingly rejected the government's plea offers. Bock rejected a plea to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery with a guideline range capped at 300 months (25 years); Said rejected a wire fraud plea with a guideline range of 168-210 months. Following these procedural matters, jury voir dire commenced and is recorded separately on pages 14-211, which are not included in this volume. There are no opening statements, witnesses, or evidence in this volume. The most significant moment for defense counsel is the disclosure of the plea offers and their rejection — these figures anchor the government's assessment of offense severity and will frame sentencing exposure for any future client.
This volume contains no substantive trial proceedings — it covers only pre-trial housekeeping, appearances, a Frye/Lafler plea colloquy, and the commencement of jury voir dire. The government's trial team (Thompson, Jacobs, Ebert, Bobier) was assembled and present. The government disclosed the plea offers that were rejected by both defendants, placing on the record that Bock was offered a plea to Counts 5 and 15 (wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery) with a capped guideline of 300 months, and Said was offered a wire fraud plea at offense level 35 with a range of 168-210 months. Neither defendant accepted. No substantive theory or narrative was advanced in this volume.
- The government valued Bock's culpability at offense level 41 (capped guideline of 300 months / 25 years) and Said's at offense level 35 (168-210 months). Understanding what conduct drives those levels — amount of loss, number of victims, role enhancement, obstruction — is essential for any incoming defendant's risk assessment and negotiation strategy. - Both defendants rejected plea offers at the eve of trial. This means no cooperating co-defendants from this case flipped before trial started. However, watch for cooperating witnesses from other Feeding Our Future prosecutions who were called at trial. - The FBI personnel identified for this trial include Special Agent Jared Kary, Forensic Accountant Pauline Roase, and Agent Travis Wilmer. These are likely to be key government witnesses; their roles and prior testimony in Trial 1 (22cr124) should be cross-referenced. - Jury selection (pages 14-211) is bound separately and not in this volume. If any juror research or challenge strategy is needed, that separate volume must be obtained and reviewed. - Vol I itself contains no substantive intelligence — its primary value is establishing the cast of counsel, the plea rejection record, and the identities of the FBI team. The real content begins in later volumes with opening statements and witness testimony.
No substantive defense performance is assessable in this volume — it covers only pre-trial administration and the Frye/Lafler record. Defense counsel for Bock (Kenneth Udoibok) raised only a routine request that the court advise jurors not to interpret counsel ignoring them as disrespect, which the court confirmed it always does. Defense counsel for Said (Colich team) stated nothing for the record. Neither side made any substantive motions or objections. The fact that Bock's counsel requested a plea agreement as late as the week before trial and that the government had to tender it under time pressure (resulting in the government declining the third acceptance-of-responsibility point) suggests the defense was either using the plea request as a delay tactic or genuinely considered it very late. Either way, it did not result in a favorable outcome for the defendant.