Another suspect in the Feeding Our Future scandal is in custody after being apprehended by FBI and IRS agents while reportedly attempting to leave the country.
Hibo Daar, of Eden Prairie, was arrested at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International (MSP) Airport on Sunday before she could board a flight to Dubai, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) News reported.
Daar’s international flight was booked last week—the same day that a St. Paul non-profit was raided in connection to the ongoing investigation of Feeding Our Future—a case of fraud involving $250 million in federal funds dispersed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daar, age 50, is being held on suspicion of wire fraud. She has been ordered to remain in custody.
Daar is now the 71st defendant to be charged in the massive meals program scam that has netted 45 convictions or guilty pleas, so far.
MPR reported that according to the criminal complaint, Daar ran a phony meal distribution site called Northside Wellness Center under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future.
Daar’s business allegedly collected nearly $1.8 million from Feeding Our Future after submitting fraudulent meal reimbursements, based on claims that she was feeding 40,000 meals to children per week.
Further details from the criminal complaint, according to MPR, state that Daar herself allegedly received $110,000 in fraudulent proceeds.
Northside Wellness also made large payments to others apparently involved in the scheme, including $72,000 to Feeding Our Future employee Hadith Ahmed—who pleaded guilty in 2022 during the first Feeding Our Future trial in 2024.
Ahmed testified that he set up a phony consulting company to collect kickbacks from meal site operators. Forensic accountants from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) say that Northside Wellness spent less than $2,000 of that money on food.
Aimee Bock, the ringleader of the fraud scheme, and her co-conspirator Salim Said, were found guilty by a jury in March on multiple counts including conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud, following a weeks-long trial. Both Bock and Said remain in custody awaiting sentencing.
Some of the latest developments that have unfolded in the weeks following the high-profile trial include a secret audio recording from a meeting in 2021 with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and some of the would-be defendants prior to the indictments becoming public.
In April, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, a lead prosecutor in the Feeding Our Future cases, spoke with Alpha News senior investigative reporter Liz Collin in an exclusive interview. Thompson stated the years-long investigation is ongoing. However, Thompson did not conclusively say whether indictments could be directed at political leaders who were documented to have direct or tangential connections to some of the defendants and their phony organizations.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
