Five Individuals Plead Guilty In Connection With Minnesota Fraud Schemes

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday announced that five additional defendants pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. The multi-billion dollar case involves the misappropriation of federal funds from the Federal Child Nutrition Program, intended to provide meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the latest guilty pleas was Ikram Yusuf Mohamed, 42, who has been described as a leader in the scheme and a consultant to Feeding Our Future. She opened several food sites that received over $6.9 million in program funds, often using family members’ names to conceal her role.

She also established Star Distribution LLC with her brother, which submitted fraudulent invoices and received $1.4 million for inflated food sales, along with $4.9 million directly for meals at family-controlled sites. She further solicited and received over $1.3 million in kickbacks through her consulting entity, prosecutors said.

Mohamed’s husband, Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, also pleaded guilty. Through Inspiring Youth & Outreach LLC, he claimed to serve over 1 million meals between February and November 2021 using fabricated attendance records. The fraudulent enterprise raked in more than $1.5 million in public funds over its lifetime.

Ikram Mohamed’s sister, Aisha Hassan Hussein, falsely claimed over 1.3 million meals from December 2020 through November 2021 by using a separate LLC. That scam raked in roughly $2.2 million.

Sahra Sharif Osman, 43, served as principal of Youth International Club LLC, which ran two sites in Hopkins and Edina. The entity claimed nearly 700,000 meals between March and November 2021, receiving over $1.4 million. She paid a $7,500 kickback.

The most recent guilty plea came from Fadumo Mohamed Yusuf, 59, Ikram Mohamed’s mother. Through Active Mind’s Youth LLC, she operated a site in Minneapolis and claimed over 500,000 meals between February and June 2021, receiving more than $1 million. She paid a $38,500 kickback.

Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The pleas occurred in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel, with sentencing scheduled for a later date.

In this group of seven related defendants, one remains scheduled for trial, and another is set for a change of plea hearing the following week.

The broader Feeding Our Future scheme, centered on the nonprofit organization of the same name, defrauded the program of approximately $250 million overall by falsely claiming to serve millions of meals at hundreds of sites across Minnesota. The nonprofit, founded in 2016, expanded rapidly during the pandemic, with federal funding increasing from about $3.4 million in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021.

Participants submitted fabricated meal counts, attendance rosters with fictitious children, and inflated invoices. Proceeds were used for personal expenses, including luxury vehicles, real estate purchases in multiple states and countries, and travel.

The Feeding Our Future case represents the largest known fraud scheme exploiting COVID-19 relief programs in the United States, particularly the expanded Federal Child Nutrition Program, which relaxed oversight requirements during the pandemic to facilitate meal distribution.

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