A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of wire fraud — the latest defendant to plead guilty in the sprawling Feeding Our Future case.
Bloomington man pleads guilty to wire fraud in $250 million Feeding Our Future case
Abdulkadir Awale, 50, agreed to pay restitution of $2.1 million in the plea agreement.
June 13, 2023 at 11:30PM
Abdulkadir Awale, 50, agreed to pay restitution of $2.1 million and admitted to knowingly defrauding the government.
Prosecutors say he falsely claimed to serve 3.6 million meals to low-income children at multiple sites through his businesses, Karmel Coffee, Sambusa King and Nawal Restaurant. He received $11.8 million in federal funding for providing the reported meals between April 2020 and January 2022.
Instead, prosecutors say he used the money to pay off his mortgage, transfer funds to personal accounts and buy vehicles, including two semitrailer trucks. Prosecutors say he also gave $83,000 in kickbacks to Abdikerm Eidleh, an employee at Feeding Our Future, a St. Anthony nonprofit at the center of the alleged fraud scheme. Eidleh has also been charged, but FBI agents have said he fled the country.
According to court documents, Awale spent minimal amounts of the federal money on food and, of the $11.8 million, $2.1 million was fraudulently obtained for himself. As part of the restitution, he agreed to forfeit five vehicles and properties in Savage and Burnsville.
A message left with Awale's attorney, Christa Groshek, wasn't immediately returned Tuesday night.
The FBI raided Feeding Our Future's offices in January 2022. Prosecutors later said the massive scheme totaling more than $250 million was one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in the country. Since September, 60 people have been charged in the case.
Prosecutors allege that defendants stole U.S. Department of Agriculture money meant to reimburse schools, nonprofits and child-care centers for feeding low-income students after school and in the summer. Instead, prosecutors say defendants in the case used money to buy luxury cars, lakefront homes or pay kickbacks.
The federal government has seized more than $50 million in property tied to the case.
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