An Eden Prairie woman is among three defendants who have pleaded guilty in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said Monday.
Hibo Salah Daar, 51, pleaded guilty Aug. 1 in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud for her role in a plan that defrauded the federal child nutrition program of $2.4 million through her Minneapolis-based nonprofit, Northside Wellness Center Corporation.
Prosecutors said Daar enrolled Northside Wellness in the program in November 2020 under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future and then submitted false claims that she was serving tens of thousands of meals to children each month. They said she and her conspirators supported the claims with fake invoices and paid $72,000 in bribes to a Feeding Our Future employee to keep the scheme running.
Sahan Journal reported that Daar was arrested in May at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after allegedly trying to flee upon learning she was an FBI target. Prosecutors said she had recently purchased a ticket to Dubai and had traveled internationally in the past two years, despite claiming otherwise in court.
Also pleading guilty were Mahad Ibrahim, 46, of Lewis Center, Ohio, and Hamdi Hussein Omar, 29, of St. Paul. Ibrahim pleaded guilty July 24 to wire fraud and money laundering; Omar pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to wire fraud. Ibrahim admitted to using his nonprofit, ThinkTechAct Foundation, to facilitate the fraud and launder proceeds, including buying real estate in Ohio. Omar admitted to falsely claiming to serve about 2,000 meals a day from a Waite Park market and supporting the claims with fabricated attendance rosters.
Sentencing dates have not been set.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said the latest convictions bring the total number of defendants found guilty in the case to more than 50.
“Taxpayers are entitled to assurance that their contributions will be utilized in a responsible and lawful manner,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI’s Minneapolis division. “These three guilty pleas underscore the gravity with which the FBI addresses fraud perpetrated against the government.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Harry M. Jacobs, and Daniel W. Bobier, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune handling asset forfeiture. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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