Andrew M. Luger, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota
A Minneapolis woman has admitted guilt in a fraud scheme involving $250 million, which took advantage of a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
Court documents reveal that Najmo M. Ahmed, 35, assisted her husband Said Ereg in managing Evergreen Grocery and Deli, a small grocery store in Minneapolis. In April 2020, Ereg registered the store as a food distribution site under the Federal Child Nutrition Program with sponsorship from Feeding Our Future. Ahmed falsified meal count sheets under her husband's guidance, including one dated December 31, 2020, falsely claiming that the store served meals to 3,250 children twice daily during the week of January 24, 2021. Between April 2020 and April 2021, it was claimed that over 1.4 million meals were served.
Evergreen Grocery and Deli received more than $4.2 million from Feeding Our Future based on these fraudulent claims. Funds were transferred from business accounts into personal accounts belonging to Ereg and Ahmed; she was aware that these funds resulted from illegal activities. Ahmed moved at least $1,147,348 to foreign textile companies like Shaoxing Aifan Textile Co., while also using some funds for luxury purchases from brands such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton. In total, she laundered $1,381,048 through her personal bank accounts.
Ahmed entered her guilty plea in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel; sentencing will be scheduled later.
The investigation involved the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations division, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs, Joseph H. Thompson, Matthew S. Ebert, and Daniel W. Bobier are leading the prosecution efforts while Assistant U.S Attorney Craig Baune is responsible for asset seizure and forfeiture proceedings.
