Shakopee couple charged in Feeding Our Future scheme, marking 50th person charged in case
(File)
The Minnesota Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a Shakopee couple has been indicted in connection to the Feeding Our Future child nutrition program scheme.
Read KSTP’s full Feeding Our Future coverage
According to court documents, Mekfira Hussein claimed that Shamsia Hopes, the Brooklyn Center nonprofit she was president and owner of, was serving up to 5,000 children a day, every day of the week, from October 2020 until 2022.
The documents say that Mekfira Hussein submitted fake meal counts and fake invoices showing food purchases.
Abduljabar Hussein, Mekfira’s husband, created the company Oromia Feeds LLC, which claimed to provide food to four Shamia Hopes sites in the metro area, documents say.
Between the two programs, the Husseins received about $8.8 million in federal funds. The court documents say the couple used the money to pay off their home mortgage and buy luxury vehicles.
Mekfira Hussein was originally arrested and charged on Sept. 19. She has not made a first court appearance yet. Abduljabar Hussein was charged on Tuesday and made his first court appearance on Wednesday.
Adjuljabar Hussein is the 50th person charged in connection with the investigation into Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors say the defunct nonprofit fraudulently received $250 million in federal child nutrition funds.
49th suspect charged in Feeding Our Future fraud investigation