Multiple Feeding Our Future defendants indicate they are ready to take plea deals
Many Feeding Our Future defendants pleading guilty
Many Feeding Our Future defendants are wanting to plea guilty amid at least 14 attorneys resigning from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota. FOX 9's Mary McGuire has more.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Court records indicate a number of Feeding Our Future defendants may be ready to take plea deals from the government and avoid an April trial.
Feeding Our Future plea deals
What we know:
Scheduled court proceedings on the docket for next week are now listed as plea hearings for seven individuals with family ties, including Suleman Yusuf Mohamed, whose company is accused of stealing $10 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
The group had tried to get the trial moved out of Minnesota, but a judge denied their request.
The backstory:
The apparent developments come as the U.S. Attorneys' Office for Minnesota is dealing with a major loss of talent and experience, with at least 14 attorneys resigning from their positions since January amid Operation Metro Surge.
FOX 9 recently asked U.S. attorney Daniel Rosen about the impact the departure of the office's top three prosecutors would have on the ongoing case. He pushed back.
"We are picking back up. I think if you go back, and you look over, in history, there are times when there's greater losses and when there are lesser losses, we deal with it. We keep our head down; we charge forward," said Rosen.
"Is there some loss in some institutional loss and knowledge? There's always institutional loss of knowledge in government. And then you pick it back up, and the teams keep handing off the batons, and they carry them forward. This team is a very, very effective team and the fraud prosecutors that we have are people who are going to put a lot of people in prison."
So far, 79 people have been charged for their involvement in the $300 million scheme. 60 people have been convicted, and multiple court cases are still ongoing.