Feeding Our Future defendant accused of witness tampering is jailed

Abdinasir Abshir, who allegedly attempted to tamper with a witness in the ongoing Feeding Our Future trial, was arrested Monday and is being held in federal custody until a hearing on his case Friday.

Abshir, who is facing criminal charges for his alleged role in the $250 million scheme to defraud a federal meals program, created a stir in the courtroom last week when he tried to persuade a witness to have a private conversation with him in a bathroom near the courtroom as he waited to testify.

Prosecutors said the witness, Sharmake Jama, felt that Abshir was trying to intimidate him, a felony offense and a violation of the conditions of his release. Jama, who testified last week, told jurors that he refused Abshir’s invitation to speak with him in the bathroom because the request seemed improper.

“If you are anyone involved in the food program, you don’t want to talk to them,” Jama testified.

Jama, who has pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme, admitted that his Rochester restaurant, Brava, had defrauded the meals program by submitting inflated invoices claiming to feed thousands of children a day even though he provided far fewer meals.

The incident prompted U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel, who is overseeing the monthlong trial, to bar other defendants in the case from being on the floor of the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis during the trial and to warn other cooperating witnesses to immediately report any future contacts with fellow defendants.

“I just want to be clear — witness tampering is a crime and a serious one,” Brasel said last week when the incident was first reported. “And that’s what we are trying to prevent here. I don’t know what occurred here today but I am going to find out.”

Federal officials are still investigating the incident. Their findings will likely determine whether Abshir is free on bail or in custody while he is awaiting trial, which is now scheduled for later this summer.

The trial, now in its fourth week, is the second one in the sprawling fraud case since charges were first filed in 2022. Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock and Salim Said, a Minneapolis restaurant co-owner, are on trial.