Brooklyn Park man pleads guilty for stealing millions in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Brooklyn Park man pled guilty to fraudulently receiving millions of dollars from the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Liban Yasin Alishire, 43, pled guilty in federal court on Tuesday to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering for submitting falsified documents to receive millions in federal funding, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Court documents state Alishire enrolled two businesses, Community Enhancement Services and Lake Street Kitchen, in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future as sites that provided meals to underprivileged children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the scheme, Alishire submitted false documents stating he was serving meals to hundreds or thousands of children per day when the actual amount was far less. He would falsify the names of children who received the meals and created fake involves for how much food he was buying.
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As a result, Alishire received approximately $2,427,576.17 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds. Feeding Our Future paid out $1,783,786.4 to Alishire and the others involved in the scheme. Alishire obtained $712,084.00 in fraudulent proceeds for himself and transferred the majority of the funds via shell companies, according to the DOJ.
As part of the plea agreement, Alishire must forfeit a boat and trailer, a pickup truck, and two apartments in Kenya. The DOJ stated he also must pay $712,084. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.