FBI arrests Feeding Our Future suspect at MSP Airport en route to Dubai

This story is from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for their free newsletter to receive stories in your inbox.

FBI agents arrested a new suspect in the Feeding Our Future case Sunday evening at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as she was attempting to board a plane to Dubai, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Eden Prairie resident Hibo Daar attempted to leave the country after news broke last Thursday that authorities searched a St. Paul nonprofit as part of its investigation into the Feeding Our Future Fraud case. 

Hibo Daar, who is not linked to the St. Paul nonprofit, was the executive director of Minneapolis-based Northside Wellness Center, which allegedly received more than $1.7 million in the fraud scheme, according to a federal warrant for her arrest issued on Friday, May 23.  

Advertisement

Hibo Daar, who has not been charged, is being held in the Sherburne County jail. Her detention hearing is scheduled for Friday. 

This latest development further signals that federal authorities are continuing to expand their investigation into what’s believed to be the biggest coordinated COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country. Starting in 2022, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 70 defendants in the case for allegedly stealing $250 million.

Federal prosecutors have long said their investigation is “ongoing,” but a year had passed with no new major public developments in the case until last week’s search of New Vision Foundation in St. Paul.

The FBI raid of New Vision Foundation drew media attention, and that same day, Hibo Daar purchased a round-trip ticket to Dubai that departed on Sunday and was scheduled to return on June 2, according to her arrest warrant. 

Hibo Daar allegedly contracted with Feeding Our Future from October 2020 through “at least” October 2021, and reported serving “hundreds of thousands” of meals to underserved children during that time, the warrant says. 

The warrant alleges that Northside Wellness Center filed fraudulent invoices, and spent only about $2,000 of the $1.7 million it received from the federal government on food. Instead, much of that money allegedly went to people and fake vendors.

The alleged fraud involved Feeding Our Future receiving federal funds through the Minnesota Department of Education. Feeding Our Future then distributed those funds to food vendors and food sites like Northside Wellness Center, which were supposed to provide ready-to-eat meals to local children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several organizations reported serving more meals than they actually did, or never served any at all, in order to receive more federal reimbursement dollars, according to prosecutors.

Hibo Daar incorporated Northside Wellness Center in 2019, according to Minnesota Secretary of State records. The business has been inactive since 2021. 

Northside Wellness Center allegedly paid $72,000 to Hadith Ahmed and his shell company, Mizal Consulting, for consulting work, according to the arrest warrant. Hadith Ahmed is a former Feeding Our Future employee who pleaded guilty to wrongdoing in the case; he also testified for the government in the first Feeding Our Future trial in 2024. 

“Ahmed has told investigators that he did not provide Northside any such services,” the arrest warrant reads. “Instead … these payments were kickbacks paid by Northside in exchange for Feeding Our Future’s continued sponsorship in the food program.” 

Northside Wellness Center also paid about $500,000 to another company that federal prosecutors allege is a fake food vendor. 

Federal authorities initially subpoenaed Hibo Daar last month to appear before a grand jury and answer questions about her business’s work in the federal child nutrition program with Feeding Our Future. Hibo Daar told officers to speak with her attorney. 

During these conversations, according to the arrest warrant, federal officers told Hibo Daar’s attorney that she was under investigation and invited her to give an interview. Hibo Daar and her attorney declined the interview, according to the arrest warrant. 

Hibo Daar made her initial court appearance Tuesday. She told the court that she hadn’t traveled in the last two years. However, federal prosecutors noted that her passport showed that she traveled to multiple countries in that time period, including the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kenya. The court ordered that she remain in custody. 

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on May 27 by Sahan Journal. It was written by Joey Peters, the publication’s politics and government reporter.