Man sentenced to over 17 years, woman pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme

One defendant has been sentenced and another has pleaded guilty in the massive COVID-19-related Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

On Friday, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff was sentenced to 17.5 years (210 months) followed by three years of supervised release for allegedly stealing tens of millions of dollars in the $250 million scheme, which stole taxpayer funds meant to help feed children in need during the pandemic.

Shariff was also ordered to pay just under $48 million in restitution.

In June of 2024, Shariff was found guilty of four of the six counts against him.

This comes as another defendant, Ayan Farah Abukar of Savage, pleaded guilty on Friday to her role in the scheme after being charged in March of 2023.

She fraudulently received about $5.7 million in the massive fraud plot. Abukar’s sentencing date has not been set yet.

The next trial in the case is expected to start in early February.

Click here for KSTP’s full Feeding Our Future coverage.