A man from Chaska has admitted to his involvement in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
Court documents reveal that between November 2020 and January 2022, Mohamed Muse Noor, also known as "Deeq Darajo," participated in defrauding a federal child nutrition program intended to provide free meals to children in need. Instead of using the funds for their intended purpose, Noor and his co-defendants took advantage of the pandemic-related changes to misappropriate millions of dollars.
Noor was recruited into the Feeding Our Future scheme despite lacking experience in food provision. In December 2020, he applied to enroll in the Federal Child Nutrition Program through Abdikerm Eidleh, an employee at Feeding Our Future, and Aimee Bock, former Executive Director of the organization. Under Eidleh's guidance, Noor submitted false meal counts and invoices claiming to feed 1,500 children daily soon after being sponsored by Feeding Our Future. However, Noor did not personally serve any meals or visit any registered sites.
The plea agreement disclosed that Noor paid kickbacks to Eidleh for sponsorship by Feeding Our Future in the nutrition program. Food distribution sites linked with Noor falsely acquired up to $1.3 million by claiming to serve thousands of meals daily. Most of these funds were transferred or intercepted by Eidleh without Noor's knowledge; Noor retained approximately $52,388 for himself.
Noor pleaded guilty before Judge Joan N. Ericksen in U.S. District Court on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing is yet to be scheduled.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson, Matthew S. Ebert, and Harry M. Jacobs are prosecuting this case while Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune handles asset seizure and forfeiture.