Latest news with #HiboDaar
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Woman becomes 71st charged in Feeding Our Future scheme after arrest at MSP airport
Woman becomes 71st charged in Feeding Our Future scheme after arrest at MSP airport originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A 71st suspect in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme has been indicted after she allegedly attempted to flee the country to Dubai. Hibo Daar, 50, was apprehended at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this week, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota. Daar was attempting to board a plane, with Dubai her ultimate destination. She's since been indicted on two counts of wire fraud in connection with the large-scale COVID child nutrition program fraud. According to court documents, Daar owned and operated Northside Wellness Center and claimed she was using it as a COVID food distribution site under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future in 2020. Daar claimed to provide 40,000 meals to children every week from a small business park on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. But Daar used false invoices and attendance records to inflate those numbers, according to court documents. In total, Northside Wellness Center submitted over $2.4 million in reimbursement claims, with Daar receiving $1.7 million in taxpayer dollars. Daar then allegedly transferred most of the money to family, associates and herself. Daar is also accused of paying $72,000 in bribes to a Feeding Our Future employee to process the fraudulent reimbursement claims. 'As we have said, the U.S. Attorney's Office is not stopping. We will continue to investigate and charge defendants who defrauded the government in the Feeding Our Future case – the largest COVID fraud scheme in the country and the single largest case charged in the history of this office,' Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in a statement. "Our work is not done." This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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.
CBS News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Another person charged in connection to Feeding Our Future fraud investigation
New indictment in the Feeding our Future fraud scheme New indictment in the Feeding our Future fraud scheme New indictment in the Feeding our Future fraud scheme Another person has been charged in federal court tied to the largest pandemic fraud scheme in the country. In an FBI agent's 23-page affidavit, investigators say Hibo Daar used a Gmail account to carry out wire fraud in submitting falsified business records to Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors say because there were no Google servers in Minnesota, that means the fraud traveled across state lines. They also found evidence of outlandish numbers on their invoices. According to court documents, Daar's food site, Northside Wellness Center, claimed to serve 52,000 meals in the month of January 2021. Prosecutors say by April that same year, they claimed to serve 40,000 meals every week. Another vendor invoice submitted by Northside Wellness claimed they bought 3,000 gallons of milk in a single month. Last week, there was another raid at New Vision Foundation. Court documents say the nonprofit claimed to serve thousands of meals to children daily in St. Paul and Waite Park. Neighboring business owners told investigators they didn't see kids at the locations. There are no charges tied to that Saint Paul raid at this time. 44 defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted in the Justice Department's Feeding Our Future investigation, which includes Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock. Bock's appeal remains ongoing. In all, the scheme diverted $250 million in federal funds during a time when the rules were relaxed in order to keep the U.S. economy running.
