$72K In Bribes, 2,000 Daily Fake Meals: 3 Plead Guilty In Feeding Our Future Case

MINNEAPOLIS — Three more people have pleaded guilty in connection with the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, bringing the total number of convictions to over 50, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Mahad Ibrahim, Hamdi Hussein Omar, and Hibo Salah Daar each admitted to participating in the multi-million dollar scam that defrauded the federal child nutrition program, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.

“This milestone marks an extraordinary achievement by our team and our law enforcement partners,” Thompson said in a statement. “For years, these elite federal agents and forensic accountants have tracked stolen money, cut through layers of deceit, and exposed a sprawling network of shell companies and fake meal claims.”

500,000 Fake Meals At A Strip Mall

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hamdi Hussein Omar, 29, knowingly allowed her name to be used as the operator of a fake meal site at a small market in a Waite Park strip mall. There, conspirators claimed to serve 2,000 meals to children every single day, including weekends.

“In all, over a matter of months, they claimed to serve half a million meals from that small, Waite Park market,” the DOJ said.

Omar also created a sham vendor company called Feeding Our Youth and used fake rosters with “made-up children with fake ages” to support reimbursement claims, prosecutors said. The scheme caused a taxpayer loss of $1.4 million, and Omar pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

$72,000 In Bribes To Keep The Scam Going

Hibo Salah Daar, 51, controlled Northside Wellness Center Corporation and falsely claimed to serve 52,000 meals in January 2021, and then 40,000 meals per week just two months later. Prosecutors said Daar backed up the false claims with phony invoices and authorized $72,000 in bribes to a Feeding Our Future employee to keep the scam alive.

Daar pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The fraudulent activity resulted in $2.4 million in taxpayer losses, authorities said.

Real Estate, Shell Companies, And Money Laundering

Mahad Ibrahim, 46, ran a nonprofit called ThinkTechAct Foundation and worked with already-convicted conspirators to funnel money through fake claims, according to the DOJ.

“Ibrahim admittedly took deliberate steps to avoid learning the full scale of his conspirators’ activities,” prosecutors wrote. He laundered some of his proceeds through a company called MIB Holdings LLC, including to purchase real estate in Ohio.

Ibrahim pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

“Because of their work, we’ve uncovered not just one scheme, but a far-reaching fraud crisis that’s swamping Minnesota,” Thompson said. “This team is nowhere near finished.”

All three guilty pleas were entered in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Harry M. Jacobs, and Daniel W. Bobier, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune handling asset forfeiture.