As a highly anticipated Feeding Our Future fraud trial approaches on Monday, a wave of guilty pleas this week has narrowed the number of defendants set to face a jury.
As of publication, Aimee Bock, the alleged mastermind of the $250 million scheme to defraud the federal Child Nutrition Program, and one of her co-conspirators, Salim Said, are still set to stand trial on Monday at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis.
On Wednesday, Sharmake Jama pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, admitting to his role in the scheme.
Jama’s plea came just a day after brothers Abdi Nur Salah and Abdulkadir Nur Salah admitted to similar crimes. Both of them were originally scheduled to go on trial with Bock and Said.
Mohamed Muse Noor then pleaded guilty to one county of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Thursday.
The guilty pleas follow a sentencing hearing last week, where Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Mukhtar Shariff to 17 years in federal prison. Shariff was among those convicted in the first Feeding Our Future trial last year.
Restaurants and shell nonprofits at the center of fraud
Prosecutors allege that Bock worked closely with a network of restaurants and nonprofits that played a key role in the fraud, falsely claiming to serve thousands of meals to children in need while pocketing federal reimbursements.
“The company went from receiving and disbursing approximately $3.4 million in federal funds to sites under its sponsorship in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021. In all, Feeding Our Future fraudulently obtained and disbursed more than $240 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds during the Covid-19 pandemic,” a trial brief states.
Court documents allege that restaurants, along with several nonprofits tied to Feeding Our Future, fabricated meal counts, submitted fraudulent invoices, and laundered the stolen funds through shell companies.
Bock, as the leader of the operation, allegedly facilitated these schemes by recruiting restaurant owners willing to manipulate the system in exchange for a cut of the profits.
Said co-owned and operated an establishment called Safari Restaurant, which claimed to be serving meals to 5,000 children a day, seven days a week, at the height of the scheme, according to prosecutors.
“In all, as part of the scheme to defraud, Safari Restaurant received more than $16 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds in 2020 and 2021. Said and Abdulkadir Salah sent much of this money to their co-conspirators via shell companies created and used to receive and launder the proceeds of the fraudulent scheme,” the brief states.
Political influence allegedly used to prevent shutdown
According to the trial brief, Abdi Nur Salah used his political influence as a senior aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to pressure state officials into keeping Feeding Our Future running, even as suspicions mounted.
“When MDE began scrutinizing Feeding Our Future and sites under its sponsorship, Abdi Nur Salah used his political influence to lobby politicians to pressure MDE not to shut down Feeding Our Future and sites under its sponsorship so that he and his co-conspirators could continue to carry out their fraudulent scheme,” the brief states.
Oversight failures come under scrutiny
The trial comes amid growing criticism of state and federal oversight failures, with top officials accused of missing early warnings of fraud.
Phyllis Fong, the recently ousted inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, faced scrutiny from the House Committee on Education and Workforce for allegedly failing to act on reports of fraud tied to Feeding Our Future.
“USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong is out. She led the department that was informed of fraud in the Feeding Our Future program—a $250 million scheme that took funds from hungry children—and did NOT act,” the committee recently wrote on social media.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose state Department of Education is responsible for administering the federal program, has also faced intense criticism.
Last fall, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, subpoenaed Walz for information related to the Minnesota-based Feeding Our Future scandal.
“$250 million has been stolen from the American people, and keeping track of Feeding Our Future was the responsibility of the governor,” Foxx said at the time, emphasizing that it’s important “the people of this country know that Gov. Walz is not a good steward of their money.”
Despite the scrutiny over his own administration’s oversight failures, Walz recently criticized President Donald Trump, saying he “can’t manage a damn thing.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who presided over the country's largest pandemic fraud scheme, says the Trump administration "can't manage a damn thing." pic.twitter.com/nOFpPDY8PY
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 29, 2025
Jury selection is set to begin Monday. Alpha News will provide live updates from the courtroom.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
