Your correspondent was there for part of today’s afternoon session of the the trial of Muna Fidhin. She is accused as part of the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal and is defendant No. 75 (of 81), in the sprawling free-food scandal.
Burnsville restauranteur Muna Fidhin, 45, owner of the now-defunct M5 cafe, is facing ten (10) felony counts, including wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering. Prosecutors say she received $656,000 from the free-food program.
In the portion that I caught of the afternoon session, Fidhin’s attorney, Steven Schleicher, was discussing some issues with the judge, with the jury out of the room. The issues centered on the testimony of prosecution witness Hoda Abdi, who is defendant No. 70 in the case. Abdi testified in the Fidhin trial last Thursday.
Later, with the jury back in the room, we resumed with cross-examination of the testimony of an FBI accountant.
Later in the afternoon, the prosecution rested its case and the defense began calling their first witnesses.
The trial resumes tomorrow morning, and may or may not feature testimony from the defendant herself.
Developing…