Shakopee nonprofit founder pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme

A Shakopee woman pleaded guilty Friday to her role in the Feeding Our Future case, which included misappropriating millions of dollars in federal nutrition program money during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mekfira Hussein is the 30th person to plead guilty since 2022 in what prosecutors have said is the nation’s largest pandemic-era fraud case. A total of 70 people have been charged in the $250 million fraud scheme, in which co-conspirators took federal money intended to feed children in need during the pandemic and instead used it for personal purchases.

The charges against Hussein included submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims, inflated meal counts and attendance rosters for meals that were never served. She remains on conditional release until her sentencing, when she could get prison time ranging from 46 to 57 months, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ebert said during the Friday hearing. Her sentencing has not been set.

As part of her plea agreement, Hussein admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Eighteen other counts will be dismissed as part of the deal.

Hussein spoke little at the hearing in downtown Minneapolis, other than to answer questions from U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel and confirm the accusations as they were read from the plea agreement by Ebert.

Hussein, who is married to co-defendant Abduljabar Hussein, was the founder of the Shakopee-based nonprofit Shamsia Hopes. The nonprofit, which existed prior to Feeding Our Future, was created to help children and women from east Africa who came to the United States and needed help with housing and jobs, she said Friday.

Between October 2020 and January 2022, Hussein submitted an application on behalf of Shamsia Hopes to Feeding Our Future executive director Aimee Bock for federal funding. Hussein admitted receiving as much as $8.8 million in federal funds, hundreds of thousands of which were used to buy vehicles including a Tesla, Porsche and GMC truck.

Hussein agreed in her plea deal to forfeit the vehicles and to return $173,000 paid on the mortgage for a house in Shakopee.

Following the hearing, attorney Jason Steck said it had been a “tragic day” for Hussein and that his client regretted not walking away from the fraud scheme sooner. Steck said Shamsia Hopes was a “well-respected community organization that was doing real good work.” Others had tricked Hussein into participating in Feeding Our Future, he said.

“Through a series of misrepresentations to her, and frankly trickery from Feeding Our Future, she got sucked into where she’s at today and she very much regrets her role,” Steck said.

Hussein is an American citizen and had no previous criminal record, which Ebert said would be factored into the sentence she receives.

Three other Feeding our Future defendants also pleaded guilty this week.

Ayan Jama of Rochester pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of wire fraud and money laundering. She was a principal at Brava Restaurant & Café, which received about $5 million in federal funds for claiming to serve more than a million meals to children in southern Minnesota.

Sharmake Jama, 37, of Rochester, another Brava principal, also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors said the Jamas spent federal money intended to feed low-income kids on homes in Rochester and property in Ohio and Turkey. They worked with Salim Said, one of the owners of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis and one of two people going on trial next week.

Mohamed Muse Noor, 40, of Chaska, also known as Deeq Darajo, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud. Noor, the founder of a Somali news company, was arrested in 2022 before a flight to Turkey. He received $1.3 million and transferred almost all the money to his cousin Abdikerm Eidleh, a Feeding Our Future employee, while keeping $52,000 for himself. Eidleh has been charged but has fled the country.

Kelly Smith of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.