Judge Nancy Brasel ordered Feeding Our Future Founder Aimee Bock and her co-defendant Salim Said to not communicate with any witnesses or other defendants in the massive fraud investigation on Tuesday.

The rebuke comes after a man, whom attorneys believe to be a relative of Said, approached a witness who was waiting to testify and asked him to go to the bathroom together. The witness was reportedly Sharmake Jama, who pleaded guilty in the Feeding Our Future investigation and, as part of a plea agreement, was waiting to testify against Bock and Said.

“It concerns me greatly that we have a cooperating witness who was asked to meet without his attorney outside the courtroom,” said Judge Nancy Brasel, who then ordered the two not to communicate with any witnesses or codefendants until after the trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, a prosecutor in the case, expressed frustration in court Tuesday afternoon.

“The last time there was a crisis related to this case, relatives of a defendant tried to bribe a juror,” he said, later adding, “I’ve had it with the shenanigans with this case.”

This came as attorneys were questioning Postal Inspector John Western, who testified about suspicious meal counts. He also spoke about Minneapolis City Councilmember Jamal Osman’s alleged connection to the case.

Jurors were shown documents that listed Osman as the previous incorporator of StigmaFree International, the non-profit that sponsored two sites in Willmar and Mankato. Osman and the non-profit’s board of directors resigned and it was taken over by several defendants in the Feeding Our Future case.

Western on Tuesday called StigmaFree International a “shell company.”

Osman has not been charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

Earlier in the day, attorneys questioned FBI Special Agent Jessica Klepadia, who was a team leader during the search warrant execution on Total Financial Solutions in south Minneapolis — inside the mansion Salim Said purchased for business use.

KSTP has reached out to Osman for comment and will update this article if a response is received.

You can find KSTP’s full coverage of the Feeding Our Future case here.