Four more defendants plead guilty in Minnesota Feeding Our Future scheme.
In September of 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota indicted dozens of individuals after federal child nutrition programs, which were administered by the Minnesota Department of Education, were defrauded of roughly $250 million. A nonprofit called Feeding Our Future was allegedly at the center of the fraud. The scandal, which occurred during Gov. Tim Walz’s tenure, has received significant news coverage in Minnesota.
Last week’s guilty pleas included Abduljabar Hussein, 44, who is married to Mekfira Hussein. She also participated in the scheme and pleaded guilty last month.
Mekfira Hussein enrolled her nonprofit Shamsia Hopes in the federal child nutrition programs under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future.
Her husband, Abduljabar, used a company called Oromia Feeds to act as a food vendor for sites run by Shamsia Hopes.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Husseins submitted fraudulent claims, including inflated meal counts and false attendance records, seeking reimbursement from the government for far more meals and food than they actually prepared.
They paid kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employees in exchange for Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship of their participation in the child nutrition programs.
The couple obtained up to $8.8 million in child nutrition program funds and used some of that money for personal expenses, including $173,438 that was used to pay off their mortgage, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Additionally, Zamzam Jama, 50, and Mustafa Jama, 48, of Rochester, and Asha Jama, 42, of Lakeville, each pleaded guilty to laundering fraudulent proceeds that were paid by Feeding Our Future through the federal child nutrition programs to Brava Restaurant, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Zamzam Jama spent program funds on a home in Rosemount and to purchase a 2021 Toyota RAV4 vehicle. Mustafa Jama used program funds to buy homes in Columbus, Ohio, and Lakeville, as well as Mediterranean coastal property in Alanya, Turkey. Asha Jama spent program funds on a home in Lakeville and another in Rochester.
https://alphanews.org/four-more-defendants-plead-guilty-in-feeding-our-future-scheme/