5 Brooklyn Park Residents Charged In Massive 'Feeding Our Future' Scam

APPLE VALLEY, MN — Five Brooklyn Park residents are among the 47 people charged in connection with a Minnesota-based scheme to scam $250 million from the federally-funded child nutrition program.

Authorities say people working with and under the nonprofit "Feeding Our Future" lied about providing millions of meals to children during the health crisis. It was the largest COVID-19 spending fraud in the nation, according to investigators.

"These indictments, alleging the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme charged to date, underscore the Department of Justice’s sustained commitment to combating pandemic fraud and holding accountable those who perpetrate it," said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a news release about the 47 people charged.

"In partnership with agencies across government, the Justice Department will continue to bring to justice those who have exploited the pandemic for personal gain and stolen from American taxpayers.

As part of the scheme, Feeding Our Future employees recruited people to open more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout Minnesota, according to authorities.

The sites fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed in order to receive federal funds, investigators said.

In total, defendants were given $240 million in federal funds, according to authorities. They used the proceeds to purchase luxury vehicles, residential and commercial real estate in Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, and real estate in Kenya and Turkey to fund international travel, investigators said.

"Exploiting a government program intended to feed children at the time of a national crisis is the epitome of greed," said Chicago-based Internal Revenue Service agent Justin Campbell.

"As alleged, the defendants charged in this case chose to enrich themselves at the expense of children. Instead of feeding the future, they chose to steal from the future."

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Five people from Brooklyn Park were charged. The FBI provided the following information and description of each individual charge:

Qamar Ahmed Hassan, 53, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Hassan was the owner and operator of S & S Catering Inc., a for-profit restaurant and catering business that participated in the scheme as a distribution site and as a vendor for other sites. S & S Catering received more than $18 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.

Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud, 32, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Mohamud ran a site called Academy For Youth Excellence that used S & S Catering as a vendor.

Filsan Mumin Hassan, 28, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Hassan ran a site called Youth Higher Educational Achievement that falsely claimed to serve up to 4,300 meals a day.

Liban Yasin Alishire, 42, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, and money laundering.Alishire was the president and owner of Community Enhancement Services, Inc., a company located in the JigJiga Business Center in Minneapolis. Community Enhancement Services was a cultural mall owned and operated by Alishire and co-defendant Khadar Jigre Adan. Community Enhancement Services received more than $1.6 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.

Ahmed Yasin Ali, 57, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Ali created a second program site, run by Lake Street Kitchen, and located in the JigJiga Business Center in Minneapolis.