Another defendant pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future case

Another person pleaded guilty Thursday in a case authorities have recognized as the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation.

Qamar Hassan, 54, of Brooklyn Park, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to money laundering. Hassan, who planned with others to receive more than $16.5 million in pandemic relief funds as owner and operator of S&S Catering Inc., originally pleaded not guilty.

In changing her plea, Hassan admitted to serving a fraction of the 1.2 million meals her business reported between December 2020 and January 2022 with the help of co-conspirators who "grossly inflated" the number of children they reported serving.

"Hassan caused money to be transferred to co-conspirators through shell companies created and used to receive and launder the proceeds of the fraud scheme," The plea agreement read. "She also caused money to be transferred from the S&S Catering accounts received as federal food program reimbursements to her personal bank account."

Hassan faces a maximum of five years in prison for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge, and a max of 10 years for the charge of money laundering. She would be eligible for a supervised release term of no more than three years for both charges.

Attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, the firm representing Hassan, were not immediately available for comment.

As part of the plea, Hassan agreed to forfeit property she purchased with those pandemic relief funds. That includes: jewelry, five phones, a laptop, four properties in Brooklyn Park, money from the sale of five properties, a combined $643,000 from multiple bank accounts, and a 2021 Jeep Wrangler.

Her sentencing will be decided as the trial continues.

Including Hassan, federal authorities have charged 60 people for the Feeding Our Future scheme, which divested at least $250 million in federal food aid. Some spent those dollars on new vehicles and property. One purchased a Magnus Fusion 212 Aircraft to be delivered to Kenya.

Prosecutors have called it the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme in the nation, and said that more people could soon be implicated.

"Our work is not done," U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said at a March 13 press conference, "and we expect to bring more charges in the future."