Woman Accused In Feeding Our Future Fraud Nabbed At MSP Before Flight To Dubai: Feds

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Minneapolis woman has become the 71st person charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme after federal agents stopped her from boarding a flight to Dubai, authorities announced.

Federal agents said they apprehended Hibo Daar, 50, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport last week, before she could leave the country. She has been indicted on two counts of wire fraud and is currently in custody at the Sherburne County Jail.

"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," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. "Our work is not done."

"Fraud against the government takes money out of taxpayers’ pockets," added Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. "Criminals who exploit government programs for personal gain will face the full weight of justice."

According to court documents, Daar owned and operated an entity called Northside Wellness Center. In 2020, she applied to use the center as a food distribution site under the federal child nutrition program, sponsored by Feeding Our Future.

Daar claimed to serve tens of thousands of meals to children each week from a small business park on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. In some cases, she signed forms reporting 40,000 meals served weekly.

Court documents state those meal counts were inflated and supported by fake invoices and attendance rosters.

Authorities say she submitted more than $2.4 million in reimbursement claims and received $1.7 million in taxpayer funds. Financial records show that only a small portion of those funds was used to purchase food, while most was transferred to Daar, her family, and associates.

Prosecutors also allege Daar paid $72,000 in bribes to a Feeding Our Future employee to ensure her fraudulent claims were processed.

Feeding Our Future was a nonprofit that claimed to distribute meals to low-income children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors say many of its partners faked records and stole millions in taxpayer money.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson, Matthew S. Ebert, Harry M. Jacobs, and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting the case.