Latest news with #FeedingourFuture
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Feeding Our Future: Woman charged after trying to fly to Dubai
The Brief A woman is facing criminal charges tied to the Feeding Our Future scandal after authorities say she was caught trying to leave the country. Hibo Daar is accused of fraudulently claiming to serve thousands of meals out of Northside Wellness and being reimbursed by the federal government. She is the 71st person to be charged in the scheme after she booked a flight the same day news broke of an FBI raid on another Feeding Our Future site. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Federal agents say a woman suspected of playing a role in the Feeding Our Future scheme was arrested at the airport when she tried to board a flight to Dubai, after fraudulently claiming to serve thousands of meals to children during the pandemic. Big picture view A criminal complaint states Hibo Daar ran Northside Wellness as a meal site during the COVID-19 pandemic and fraudulently invoiced the government for meals that weren't served. Some of the invoices were from Alif Halal, which was run by one of the people who pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to Feeding Our Future in 2024. READ MORE: Feeding our Future fraud: 10 more charged Investigators also connected Northside Wellness to Premium Fresh, an organization that past testimony revealed was used to substantiate fraudulent reimbursement claims for Feeding Our Future, the complaint states. An October 20, 2021, email from Daar to Aimee Bock, who is seen by prosecutors as the ringleader of the scheme, included invoices from Premium Fresh and Alif Halal. READ MORE: Feeding Our Future trial: Aimee Bock admits fraud, just not by her The complaint also cites records showing that Northside Wellness received about $1,780,000 in reimbursements for meals supposedly served to children while only spending about $2,000 on food. Subpoena and arrest When federal agents tried to serve Northside Wellness a grand jury subpoena for documents in April 2025, her attorney did accept the records subpoena, but "neither accepted nor declined" the invitation to speak with investigators, according to the complaint. Law enforcement then served a search warrant on New Vision Foundation in connection to the Feeding Our Future scheme on May 22, 2025. The raid, and its affiliation with Feeding Our Future, was reported by local media. That same day, Daar booked a flight to Dubai and was set to depart MSP on May 25, 2025, and return on June 2. Investigators say people fleeing the country often book return flights to hide the fact that they do not intend to return to the United States. Daar was arrested at the airport. The backstory Prosecutors said Bock was the ringleader in the massive fraud scheme that bilked $250 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the scheme, Feeding Our Future enlisted food vendors and restaurants which claimed to serve thousands of meals to children during the pandemic. But, authorities say those vendors either lied or inflated the number of meals they served and pocketed the excess funds. Since the fraud was exposed in 2023, 70 people have been charged in the case. Thirty-seven defendants have pleaded guilty. Five were convicted at trial last year and and now Bock and Said have been convicted. READ MORE: Feeding Our Future verdict: Aimee Bock and Salim Said found guilty The other side At trial, both Bock and Said denied any wrongdoing in the fraud case. In court, Bock argued she was lied to by vendors. Prosecutors also presented witnesses who were named on the nonprofit's board – but said they weren't aware they were board members until they were contacted by journalists or authorities. Bock claimed she had communicated with the members but admitted no formal meetings were held. Said claimed he did indeed serve the meals he reported, claiming "it got so busy we had to have officers working, off-duty officers, every day, seven days a week." However, in video shown at the trial, the FBI set up cameras around the restaurant. The video showed some meals being picked up during that time but nowhere near the 4,000 to 6,000 meals per day the restaurant claimed to serve. The Source This story used information from a criminal complaint and past FOX 9 reporting.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lakeville Area Schools OKs $30,000 settlement on Black Lives Matter posters
Following a lawsuit involving posters featuring Black Lives Matter, the Lakeville Area Schools Board of Education approved a $30,000 settlement April 8. In a lawsuit filed more than two years ago, a group of residents alleged their First Amendment rights were violated when the school district allowed posters featuring 'Black Lives Matter' to be placed in classrooms, while not permitting the display of posters that read 'All Lives Matter' or 'Blue Lives Matter.' In a 5-1 vote, with board member Amber Cameron absent and member Carly Anderson opposed, the board approved the settlement April 8. 'We appreciate the many different perspectives shared. Lakeville Area Schools remains committed to continuing to partner with our families and community to provide a safe, respectful, engaging, rigorous, and collaborative learning environment where every student belongs, is valued and can succeed,' the district said in a statement provided Wednesday. Ahead of voting, Anderson said she felt the settlement approval was a premature decision, referencing the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in June to reverse the lawsuit's dismissal by a lower court. 'The Eighth Circuit decision was based on assuming that everything that the claimants were claiming could be possible in any scenario. And so to me, I believe we should have gone through the discovery process, which would have meant gathering all the information relevant to the case. In that situation, what I've understood from our legal counsel is that we are on very good footing, that they felt like what our district did was within the grounds of government speech, and that we had an excellent case,' Anderson said. In January, the Lakeville school board voted to remove the series of posters from district buildings. The posters are part of a series of 'inclusive' posters ordered by the district in 2021, two of which said 'Black Lives Matter,' and were distributed to staff members when requested. Upper Midwest Law Center represented plaintiffs Bob and Cynthia Cajune, Kalynn Kay Aaker, and Aaker's minor children in the lawsuit, which argued that the district violated their First Amendment rights 'by engaging in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.' 'With the Eighth Circuit's decision clearly signaling that the school district's policy was constitutionally unsound, Lakeville Schools wisely reversed their policy and removed the posters from district facilities,' Upper Midwest Law Center said in a statement on its website. 'Because that was what the plaintiffs had sought in the lawsuit, they agreed to dismiss their claims in the settlement in return for the District paying $30,000 in legal fees to the Upper Midwest Law Center.' Lakeville North basketball coach John Oxton announces retirement High school hockey coach, Lakeville officer returns home 2 months after injury Jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive Feeding our Future fraud scheme Another Buck Hill skier wins Alpine worlds medal: Paula Moltzan High School Football: Cretin-Derham Hall hires Ben Burk as football coach
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Feeding Our Future: Juror bribe attempt leads to third guilty plea
The Brief A third defendant pleaded guilty for the attempted bribe of a Feeding Our Future juror. The bribe attempt was made during the first Feeding Our Future trial in 2024. The juror reported the attempted bribe after being told more money would come if they voted to acquit. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Federal prosecutors secured another guilty plea for the attempted bribery of a jury member in the Feeding Our Future trial. The latest man to plead guilty, Abdulkarim Farah, of Minneapolis, admitted to coordinating and facilitating an attempted bribery of Juror 52 during the first Feeding Our Future trial in 2024. Big picture view Court documents say five people are accused of trying to bribe Juror 52 with $120,000 for a not-guilty vote for defendants in the Feeding Our Future Trial. Prosecutors accused Farah of conspiring with his brothers and other people to target the juror at her home and deliver the bribe. Investigators determined that Farah "conducted surveillance of Juror 52 and Juror 52's house" and removed a license plate from a rental car used to deliver the money, according to court documents. Farah also recorded the delivery of the bribe money and deleted the Signal messaging app with the video on it after the incident was disclosed in court, authorities say. Said Farah, Abdiaziz Farah, and Abimajid Nur, who were defendants in the initial trial, along with Abdulkarim Farah and Ali, face charges related to this bribery attempt. The jury in the original case was sequestered after the incident, and the bribed juror was dismissed. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur pleaded guilty in July to attempted bribery and was also convicted on other Feeding Our Future crimes. READ MORE: Feeding Our Future juror bribe: 5 indicted in 'chilling attack' on justice system Ladan Ali, of Seattle, pleaded guilty shortly after the attempted bribe was discovered. She is the woman who delivered the bag of money and explained there would be more coming if the juror voted to acquit, court documents say. READ MORE: Feeding our Future: Juror bribery attempt leads to guilty plea What they're saying Authorities praised the actions of the juror for not taking the money and reporting the attempted bribe. "The attempted bribery of Juror 52 is a shameful chapter in Minnesota history," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick in a written statement. "Juror bribery strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system. It is unacceptable—in Minnesota and in the United States—and can never be repeated. In contrast to the reprehensible behavior of the defendants, I am grateful for Juror 52, who is the true hero of this story. Juror 52—who could not be corrupted and immediately alerted law enforcement—represents the best of Minnesota." READ MORE: Feeding Our Future: defendant who tampered with witness pleads guilty An FBI agent who investigated the attempted bribery spoke to the significance of the crime and impact such actions have on the rule of law. "Attempting to corrupt the judicial process through bribery strikes at the very foundation of our justice system," said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate efforts to undermine the rule of law and the fair administration of justice." Dig deeper The jury ultimately delivered a split verdict, convicting five dependents on most charges while acquitting two others. The ringleader, Aimee Boch, was found guilty in March 2025 along with Salim Said. READ MORE: Feeding Our Future verdict: Aimee Bock and Salim Said found guilty The Source This story used information shared in a news release from the United States Department of Justice and past FOX 9 reporting.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Feeding our Future: Former deli owner guilty plea is 45th conviction in $250 million fraud
The Brief Abdihakim Ali Ahmed has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for his role in the $250 million COVID-19 pandemic-era fraud scheme. Through the Gurley Deli in Maplewood, court documents say Ahmed fraudulently claimed to be serving 2,000 to 3,000 children a day as part of an "after-school program" totaling 1.6 million meals from September 2020-2021. Documents say that Ahmed and co-conspirators charged a total of $7.3 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program claims through Feeding our Future. (FOX 9) - The former owner of Gurley Deli in Maplewood has pleaded guilty to his role in claiming to be feeding children, while stealing COVID-19 pandemic-era funds as part of the larger Feeding our Future fraud. What we know Abdihakim Ali Ahmed has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for his role in the $250 million COVID-19 pandemic-era fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition programs. According to court documents, under the sponsorship of Feeding our Future, Ahmed, 40, of Minneapolis, claimed to be operating a food nutrition site out of his deli located in a strip mall, from September 2020 through January 2022. Documents say that Ahmed registered ASA Limited LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State, and submitted his application with Aimee Bock, Feeding Our Future's executive director. Within three weeks of creating the ASA Limited site, "Ahmed and his co-conspirators falsely claimed to be serving meals to 2,000 or 3,000 children each day, seven days a week," documents say. From September 2020-2021, Ahmed claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals at the location. Last week, a jury found Aimee Bock guilty on all seven counts she faced, including charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and federal programs bribery. Salim Said, the owner of another fraudulent meal site, was found guilty on all 21 counts he faced, including counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal programs bribery, and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, along with four additional counts of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Following the plea, Ahmed is the 45th conviction tied to the scheme that ultimately stole $250 million from funding claims. How it worked Prosecutors say that Ahmed submitted multiple fake attendance rosters that included both names and ages of attendees of an "after-school" program that was hosted at the location. When examining the documents, investigators later determined that the lists of names and ages were on spreadsheets that contained "a formula that inserted a random number between seven and 17 in the age column for each 'child' on the list," according to court documents. Dig deeper According to court documents, rather than using the funding on meals for children, Ahmed kept "hundreds of thousands of dollars to himself," including transferring fraud proceeds to a shell company, and purchasing the former location of Kelly's 19th Hole — a bar and restaurant in Brooklyn Park. He also bought a 2022 Mini Cooper. As part of the scheme, Ahmed was found to have also paid more than $49,000 in bribes and kickbacks to Abdikerm Eidleh, a Feeding Our Future employee, in exchange for sponsoring and facilitating participation in the Federal Child Nutrition Program, charges said. In total, documents say that Ahmed and co-conspirators charged a total of $7.3 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program claims through Feeding our Future. What they're saying "I am proud of the unrelenting efforts of our prosecution team to hold the defendants — who engaged in a massive pay-to-play fraud scheme that exploited Minnesota and the Federal Child Nutrition Program — accountable," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in a statement. The Source Press release from the United States Attorney's Office District of Minnesota.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Minnesota jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive pandemic food fraud scheme on all counts
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury found the alleged ringleader of a massive pandemic fraud case in Minnesota guilty on all counts Wednesday for her role in a scheme that federal prosecutors say stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children in need. Aimee Bock — the founder of Feeding our Future, the group that prosecutors say was at the heart of the plot — was one of 70 defendants charged in the overall case, said to be one of the country's largest frauds against COVID-19 relief programs. The Minnesota case has also drawn attention for an attempt to bribe a juror in an earlier trial and witness tampering in Bock's trial, which began last month. Thirty-seven defendants have already pleaded guilty, while five were convicted in a group of defendants who were tried last year. The jury also convicted a co-defendant, Salim Ahmed Said, the owner of the now-defunct Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis. Bock and Said were charged with multiple counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery. Said was also charged with money laundering. Bock allegedly pocketed nearly $2 million, while Said was accused of taking around $5 million. They both maintained their innocence and testified at trial. In closing arguments, prosecutors said the evidence showed that Bock and Said exploited the chaos of the early days of the the pandemic by submitting falsified paperwork to enrich themselves and failed to provide anywhere near as many meals to needy children as they claimed. Defense attorneys did not dispute that there was massive fraud but insisted that their clients were not responsible for it. Bock's attorney said she was deceived by dishonest people and tried to cut them off whenever she suspected fraud. Said's attorney blamed his client's business partner. Federal prosecutors alleged that the conspiracy revolved around Feeding Our Future and another small nonprofit that were approved as sponsors of the Federal Child Nutrition Program before the pandemic. They dramatically grew as the pandemic took hold, and Feeding Our Future went from receiving and disbursing $3.4 million in federal funds in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021. Food sites it sponsored falsely claimed to be serving thousands of children daily, prosecutors allege. Besides fraudulently obtaining and disbursing more than $240 million in federal funds, prosecutors say, Bock and other Feeding Our Future employees solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from other participants connected with the scheme. The defendants are being tried in several groups. The first trial was marred by an alleged attempt by some defendants and people linked with them to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. That juror went straight to police. That led to tighter security for Bock's trial and additional precautions ordered by U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel. Despite all that, an allegation of witness tampering surfaced midway through the proceedings. A defendant scheduled for trial in August approached a government witness who was due to testify against Bock and Said and asked to speak with him in a courthouse bathroom. That witness declined and instead told his lawyer, who informed prosecutors. That defendant, Abdinasir Abshir, 32, of Lakeville, soon agreed to plead guilty to a wire fraud charge and to have his tampering attempt factored into a longer sentencing recommendation, which isn't binding on the judge.
