Faribault couple pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future pandemic fraud scheme
MINNEAPOLIS -- A Faribault couple has pleaded guilty to their role in the $250 million Feeding our Future fraud case.
On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced that Mohamed Ali Hussein, 53, and Lul Bashir Ali, 57, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
With their guilty plea, they will pay over $5 million in restitution and will forfeit some property and a vehicle to the government. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later time.
RELATED: Committee head: MN education dept. "did not follow laws" in Feeding Our Future fraud
According to their guilty pleas and court documents, from June 2020 to January 2022, Hussein and Ali obtained and misappropriated millions of dollars in federal child nutrition program funds intended to be reimbursement for the costs of feeding underprivileged kids. They fraudulently claimed to have served over 1.9 million meals and obtained about $5 million in federal reimbursement.
In September 2022, federal prosecutors announced the indictments against dozens of Minnesotans in what they called the "largest pandemic fraud in the United States." So far, at least 60 people have been charged, with many having already pleaded guilty to their role in the fraud.
Feeding Our Future was formed in 2016 to help poor and minority communities secure federal food program funding. The nonprofit quickly became the largest independent sponsor of such programs in Minnesota.
NOTE: Featured video is from March.
