A husband and wife, Mekfira Hussein and Abduljabar Hussein, have been sentenced for their roles in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
According to Fox 9, Mekfira was sentenced to 57 months, or just over four years, in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Abduljabar was sentenced to 40 months, or just over three years, in prison, followed by one year of supervised release.
The couple was also ordered to pay $8,886,380 in restitution, according to court documents.
The Department of Justice said Mekfira had registered her nonprofit, Shamsia Hopes, in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Abduljabar also registered his company, Oromia Feeds LLC, with the state of Minnesota as a food vendor, while Mekfira’s company was supposed to distribute the food.
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The Husseins paid thousands of dollars in kickbacks to ringleader Aimee Bock and Abdikerm Eidleh, disguising the payments as consulting fees, according to Fox 9.
The couple received more than $8.8 million in federal funds throughout the conspiracy and used the money to pay off their mortgage and buy cars.
“The Husseins stole money that was meant for vulnerable children. Their sentences today reflect my office’s commitment to holding those who defraud the American taxpayer accountable,” United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy and Austin L. Bowyer prosecuted the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.
Last month, two men were also sentenced for their roles in the fraud. Ahmed Ghedi was sentenced to more than five years in prison, while Abdihakim Ahmed was sentenced to four-and-a-half years, according to court documents. Both men were convicted of wire fraud and money laundering.
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Prosecutors said the two men claimed to be operating a child nutrition site in St. Paul and falsely claimed to be feeding thousands of children each day. They allegedly used federal COVID-19 relief funds to do so.
Prosecutors said Ahmed and others spent about $7.3 million in federal funds to buy a car and property and pay kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota said Ghedi received $7.2 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through fraudulent claims.
Earlier, Aimee Bock was sentenced to 500 months in prison on multiple criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Dozens of others have also been convicted in connection with the scheme.