Andrew M. Luger, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota
A Shakopee woman has admitted guilt in a $250 million fraud scheme involving a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
Court documents reveal that between October 2020 and January 2022, Mekfira Hussein conspired with others to misappropriate millions in federal child nutrition funds. Hussein and her husband, Abduljabar Hussein, falsely claimed to have served meals to thousands of children daily, obtaining millions of dollars fraudulently.
In October 2020, Mekfira Hussein enrolled her non-profit organization, Shamsia Hopes, in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under Feeding Our Future's sponsorship. This was directed by Abdikerm Eidleh, an employee of Feeding Our Future. Her application was submitted to Aimee Bock, the executive director of Feeding Our Future. In December 2020, at Eidleh's direction, Abduljabar Hussein registered his company Oromia Feeds LLC as a food vendor with the State of Minnesota. Oromia Feeds had a contract to prepare meals for sites run by Shamsia Hopes.
The plea agreement indicates that Mekfira Hussein submitted inflated invoices for reimbursement and false attendance rosters. The couple paid at least $140,000 in kickbacks to Eidleh and at least $12,000 to Aimee Bock. These payments were often disguised as "consulting fees," though no services justified them. Additionally, Feeding Our Future filed claims worth hundreds of thousands under Shamsia Hopes' name without Mekfira Hussein's knowledge or authorization and redirected those funds elsewhere within the conspiracy.
Throughout this fraudulent activity, the Husseins acquired up to $8.8 million from federal child nutrition program funds for personal use unrelated to feeding children. They used $173,438 from their proceeds to pay off their home mortgage in Shakopee and purchased vehicles including a 2021 Porsche for $93,250 and a 2022 GMC truck for $61,722.
Mekfira Hussein pleaded guilty last Friday before Judge Nancy E. Brasel in U.S. District Court on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Her sentencing hearing will be scheduled later.
This case results from investigations conducted by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Joseph H. Thompson and Harry M. Jacobs are prosecuting this case while Assistant U.S Attorney Craig Baune is managing asset seizure and forfeiture related tasks.
