Minneapolis woman pleads guilty to role in Feeding Our Future case

A Minneapolis woman pleaded guilty on Friday to wire fraud for her role in the Feeding Our Future scheme, and she admitted running a business that stole millions from the federal government by falsely inflating the number of meals it claimed to serve to children.

Khadra Abdi, 42, admitted in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis that she stole more than $3.4 million as part of the pandemic-aid fraud scheme between 2020 and 2022. As part of her plea agreement, Abdi’s other charges related to wire fraud and money laundering will be dismissed at sentencing.

Prosecutors say the Feeding Our Future scheme defrauded the federal government of money intended to feed hungry children while schools were closed during the pandemic by submitting phony invoices along with rosters of made-up children’s names and improbably high meal counts. Prosecutors have called it one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in the country, totaling more than $250 million.

Abdi operated a Hopkins-based business called Shafi’s Tutoring and Homework Help Center, which was created before the pandemic. In April 2020 Abdi signed a contract with Aimee Bock, executive director of the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for Shafi’s Tutoring to serve as a site to feed low-income children under the Federal Child Nutrition Program.

The tutoring business claimed to have served 1.1 million meals to children, federal charges say. Instead, only a small fraction of those reported meals were served, and the business falsely inflated its meal number reports, prosecutors said.

Abdi gave some of the fraudulently obtained $3.4 million to other members of the scheme, and she used at least $202,000 to pay herself, charges say. Some of the funds allegedly went to personal spending for credit card and loan payments, cable TV, clothing and nail salon services.

Abdi admitted that she purchased two vehicles partly with fraud money. She agreed to forfeit properties and vehicles she bought with that money, and she is required to pay back the $3.4 million as restitution.

Asked by U.S. Assistant Attorney Matthew Ebert if her co-defendant Abdulkadir Awale operated as a fraudulent food vendor who did not provide food to Shafi’s Tutoring as reported on invoices, Abdi initially pushed back.

“Food was served at the site,” Abdi said through a Somali interpreter. “I cannot speak to the invoices.”

Abdi’s attorney, Abdulwahid Osman, pulled her aside to consult with her before having Ebert re-ask several questions. Abdi admitted to falsely inflating her meal records when asked by Ebert again.

The prosecution and defense agreed that Abdi could receive a prison sentence between 27 and 33 months. In the plea agreement, the defense reserved the right to argue for a lower punishment of around 24 months of prison time at the sentencing.

Osman and Abdi declined to comment after the hearing. Abdi is not being held in custody prior to sentencing.

Abdi is the 21st defendant in the Feeding Our Future case to plead guilty and the third person this week to change their plea to guilty. None of the 21 who pleaded guilty have been sentenced yet, but possible sentences range from about two years to nearly five years in prison. Another five defendants were convicted by a jury earlier this year.