AlphaNews reports on MN’s largest-ever Fraud Case

Jan 30, 2025 A Bloomington man has been sentenced to 210 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick.

The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $47,920,514.

Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, 34, and his co-defendants devised and carried out a multi-million dollar fraud scheme to defraud the federal Child Nutrition Program, evidence submitted at trial proved. As the chief executive officer of Afrique Hospitality Group, Shariff obtained, misappropriated, and laundered millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to children.

March 4, 2025 As the trial of Feeding Our Future’s mastermind Aimee Bock heads into its fifth week, courtroom testimony has painted a picture of her as a revered figure in the Somali community who wielded power like a mob boss and used intimidation and political connections to protect what prosecutors call the largest fraud scheme in Minnesota history.

Bock and her associates are accused of siphoning $250 million, meant to feed underprivileged children, into their personal bank accounts. Witnesses have detailed how participants submitted false invoices, collected reimbursements, and kicked back portions of the stolen funds to Feeding Our Future leadership.

March 19, 2025 Feeding Our Future was a non-profit organization that received significant sums of federal dollars via the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) with the understanding that they would reimburse organizations, restaurants, and partners who served meals to children.

However, federal prosecutors demonstrated at trial that many of the partners never served the meals that they claimed they served… The Feeding Our Future scheme garnered national attention in September 2022 after federal prosecutors charged 47 individuals for their alleged roles in the $250 million food fraud scheme. In total, 70 individuals have been charged.