Feeding Our Future: Defendant sentenced to 17 years, another pleads guilty
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The second defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme was sentenced Friday to 17.5 years in prison and will pay almost $48 million in restitution. Another woman involved in the scheme also pleaded guilty Friday.
Feeding Our Future defendant sentenced, another pleads guilty
What's New:
Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, 34, of Bloomington, was the second person sentenced in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Shariff was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for his role in the scheme. He was also ordered to pay $47,920,514 in restitution.
Meanwhile, Ayan Farah Abukar, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She will be sentenced at a later date.
READ MORE: Feeding Our Future verdict: 5 guilty on most charges; 2 found not guilty
The backstory:
Shariff was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. He was found guilty of three of six of those charges.
Shariff was the chief executive officer of Afrique Hospitality Group, a shell company used to fraudulently obtain and launder Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
Mohamed Jama Ismail, 51, of Savage, was the first person sentenced in the Feeding our Future scheme. He was sentenced to 144 months (12 years) in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Ismail was also ordered to pay $47,920,514 in restitution.
READ MORE: Feeding Our Future: First defendant sentenced, ordered to pay nearly $48M in restitution
Abukar was the founder and executive director of Action for East African People, a nonprofit which she enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future, officials said.
Charges say between October 2020 through 2022, Abukar falsely claimed to be serving up to 5,000 children a day at her various sites in Bloomington, Minneapolis, Savage, and St. Paul.
In total, Abukar recieved about $5.7 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
Five of the defendants in the scheme were found guilty; three of them have yet to be sentenced.
The five people who have been convicted carried out a $40 million fraud scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program in which they "obtained, misappropriated and laundered millions of dollars in funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to children," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
What they're saying:
"The defendant [Shariff] committed a brazen fraud that shamelessly stole taxpayer money intended to feed children during a global pandemic. He lined his pockets, here and abroad, with millions," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick. "As the Court found, he doubled down on his crimes by obstructing justice. This significant sentence should serve as a clear warning to anyone who would seek to exploit and defraud government programs. You will be held accountable."
The Source: Press releases from the U.S. Attorney's Office.