A Minneapolis man, Abdikadir Ainashe Mohamud, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a $250 million scheme that misused a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
Court documents reveal that between April 2020 and January 2022, Mohamud, also known as "AK," claimed to operate a child nutrition site in Willmar, Minnesota, under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. He purportedly served meals to thousands of children daily from a small restaurant named FaaFan. Mohamud established a shell company called Tunyar Trading, which he falsely identified as a meal vendor for his operation.
Throughout the scheme, Mohamud and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent meal counts and invoices. They transferred over $2.5 million from Tunyar Trading to themselves and used another shell company, Five A’s Projects LLC, to divert more than $1 million in federal funds. These funds were used for personal purchases, including acquiring property in Brooklyn Park.
Mohamud also paid substantial bribes and kickbacks totaling over $225,000 to Abdikerm Eidleh of Feeding Our Future for facilitating the fraudulent activities. In return, Feeding Our Future received nearly $500,000 in administrative fees based on these false claims.
In total, Stigma-Free Willmar received more than $5.3 million through fraudulent means. As part of his sentence, Mohamud must forfeit the purchased property and repay seized funds amounting to $378,207.20.
Mohamud's guilty plea was entered before Judge Nancy E. Brasel in U.S. District Court; sentencing will be scheduled later.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI and IRS – Criminal Investigations with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson and others.