48th suspect charged in alleged $250M pandemic fraud scheme
MINNEAPOLIS – Newly-released court documents obtained by WCCO now show a 48th suspect has been charged in what officials call the largest pandemic fraud in the United States.
The allegations focus on the Minnesota group Feeding Our Future, which investigators say purposely exploited COVID-19 rules in an alleged $250 million scheme.
According to investigators, agents arrested Mekfira Hussein at MSP Airport Saturday before she could take a one-way flight to Ethiopia. Prosecutors are accusing Hussein of playing a key role in an alleged scheme, led by the nonprofit and its founder Aimee Bock, to milk hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. government that should've been spent on feeding hungry kids in Minnesota. That mission to feed those kids still continues with nonprofits like Youthprise playing by the rules.
"A hungry kid doesn't necessarily going to look a certain way. They aren't going to necessarily tell you they're hungry, but they're hungry, they're going to show up, they're going to eat," said Youthprise's Christa DeBoer. "The programs need to exist."
Like Youthprise, Feeding Our Future was a program that helped divvy up the government money and connect food service providers with schools, day cares and after-school programs.
in 2019, the nonprofit dispersed about $3.5 million worth to day cares and after-school programs. By 2021, its receipts skyrocketed to more than $200 million. The suspects, ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s, and coming from nearly two dozen cities and towns from across the Twin Cities, plus two from Ohio.
One man indicted, Abdi Nur Salah, was a senior aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The mayor told WCCO Wednesday that Salah was fired last February. He called the allegations "appalling."
And just as there are tools to help you as a consumer to shop for the best product, there are also tools out there to help you become a better donor. Check out the Charities Review Council and GuideStar. On a nonprofit's website, you can find audits, tax returns, bios on their board members, yearly reports and tax returns.
Court documents show the suspects spent that money on fancy cars, fancy trips and fancy homes.
New Wednesday, we've also uncovered political contributions from two suspects worth at least $2,000 each to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. She gave this statement to WCCO:
The fraud scheme purportedly orchestrated by Feeding Our Future is reprehensible. Using the guise of feeding children to funnel millions of dollars toward extravagant expenses is abhorrent, and anyone who participated in this scheme must be held accountable. It's shameful that children who struggle with food insecurity paid the price for this non-profit's alleged actions. I also wrote a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas Vilsack, asking for more information about how the agency is investigating fraud and preventing it from happening. Regardless of the outcome, we should all remain committed to ending the pervasive problem of childhood hunger.
Three of the people charged each gave a $1,000 donation to State Sen. Omar Fateh. He has yet to respond to WCCO's request for a comment.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Education filed a claim looking to get their money back from Feeding Our Future. The claim, filed in Dakota County Court, seeks to recover more than $583,000 in taxpayer dollars. That money was used to fight a lawsuit filed against the department by Feeding Our Future.
The lawsuit came after they stopped payments to the nonprofit after concerns about their spending.