Muna Wais Fidhin, 44, has been indicted on charges including wire fraud, federal programs bribery, and money laundering for her alleged involvement in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. Fidhin is the 75th person charged in what authorities describe as the largest Covid-related fraud case in the United States.
“With the 75th defendant charged in the Feeding Our Future scandal, the message could not be clearer,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Feeding Our Future is only one of the many frauds against the state we are pursuing. If you touched these frauds in any way, pick up the phone and call the FBI today. You will still be held accountable, but it will be far better for you than if you wait until we come knocking.”
According to investigators, Fidhin participated in a scheme that exploited changes to the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the Covid-19 pandemic. The program was intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition while schools were closed.
Feeding Our Future operated as a non-profit organization meant to help community partners participate in this federal program. Its founder and executive director, Aimee Bock, has already been convicted at trial and is awaiting sentencing. Before 2020, Feeding Our Future sponsored daycares and after-school programs with relatively modest federal funding—about $3.4 million disbursed in 2019—but that figure grew sharply to nearly $200 million by 2021.
In 2020, Fidhin enrolled her business M5 Café into the Federal Child Nutrition Program under Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship and later created another nonprofit called M5 Care, which she also enrolled under a different sponsor in 2021. Authorities allege that Fidhin falsely claimed to serve meals to 500 children daily at her sites but actually served few or none at all. She is accused of submitting fraudulent invoices for food purchases and claiming to have served over 300,000 meals across two sites—claims amounting to about $1 million from federal funds.
Instead of using these funds for their intended purpose, officials say Fidhin used them for personal expenses such as paying off her mortgage and buying a car; she also allegedly wired tens of thousands of dollars overseas and paid approximately $27,000 in kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee who facilitated her claims.
“Today’s arrest of Muna Wais Fidhin represents yet another major milestone in this investigation: the 75th indictment in this massive fraud scheme,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr. “As alleged in the indictment, Fidhin, using fraudulent documents, stole more than $1 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program. Fidhin, and all of those charged in connection with this scheme, may have underestimated the FBI’s ability to identify, investigate and prosecute individuals who steal from taxpayers with funds intended for hungry children. Rest assured; the FBI will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners, together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, until every culpable person is held responsible.”
Adam Jobes from IRS Criminal Investigation stated that such government-funded programs remain targets for fraud and emphasized ongoing efforts: “The Feeding Our Future fraud investigation ignited an awareness of the pervasive fraud that exists in government-funded programs in this state,” he said. “Well-intentioned assistance programs will always be targeted for fraud and when the system fails to protect federal funds, IRS Criminal Investigation will work with the United States Attorney’s Office and partner agencies to expose those who use deception and fraud to enrich themselves at the expense of those who truly need help...there is still more work to be done on this and other fraud schemes targeting government funded programs.”
Bryan Musgrove from United States Postal Inspection Service added: “The arrest of the 75th defendant in this case demonstrates the Postal Inspection Service’s steadfast pursuit of justice for anyone who uses the mail in a scheme to divert emergency funds intended to help those most in need...to bring this kind of greed to an end.”
The case stems from an investigation led by multiple agencies including FBI Minneapolis (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/minneapolis), IRS – Criminal Investigations (https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_criminal.shtml), and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (https://www.uspis.gov/).
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting these cases; Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune oversees asset seizure proceedings.
Authorities remind that an indictment is only an allegation; defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
