Another Suspect In Massive Minnesota Food Fraud Probe Sentenced
The massive Feeding Our Future fraud probe — the largest pandemic-era fraud case in the nation — continues to expose corruption in Minnesota’s political and nonprofit circles. On Wednesday, a Lakeville man became the latest to face sentencing, while a former campaign aide to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pleaded guilty to related charges in the same sweeping investigation.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Khadar Adan, owner of the Minneapolis business center JigJiga, to one year of probation for allowing a fraudulent food distribution site to operate out of his facility. Adan pleaded guilty in August to one count of theft of government property after admitting he accepted $1,000 in illicit proceeds — an amount he must now repay as restitution, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Adan was the final of three defendants tied to the Lake Street Kitchen scheme within JigJiga to plead guilty. Prosecutors said the group falsely claimed to have served 70,000 meals between December 2020 and April 2021, collecting large sums of federal reimbursements in the process. In reality, only a fraction of those meals were ever distributed.
One of Adan’s co-defendants, Liban Yasin Alishire, who also operated Community Enhancement Services, pocketed more than $1.6 million and pleaded guilty last year.
The Feeding Our Future scandal, centered around a St. Anthony-based nonprofit, has now ensnared 75 individuals, with 50 guilty pleas so far. Federal prosecutors allege the defendants siphoned off taxpayer dollars meant to feed underprivileged children during COVID lockdowns — instead purchasing luxury cars, homes, and other lavish goods.
But the case took a political turn last month when Guhaad Hashi Said, a longtime ally and former campaign “enforcer” for Rep. Ilhan Omar, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the same scam.
According to Alpha News and the Department of Justice, Said used his nonprofit Advance Youth Athletic Development to falsely claim he served thousands of meals per day to low-income children — while in reality serving almost none. Between March and December 2021, Said claimed to have provided over 1 million meals, defrauding the federal government of nearly $2.9 million.
Prosecutors said Said then funneled $2.1 million of those funds through shell nonprofits and LLCs, using the proceeds to buy real estate, vehicles, and luxury items. His organization, incorporated in February 2021, was registered to an apartment address in downtown Minneapolis.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said the ongoing investigation continues to reveal the staggering breadth of the corruption.
“The conviction many in the Feeding Our Future case is yet another reminder of the vast reach of this fraud and the scale of the crisis we face in Minnesota,” Thompson said. “These crimes are not isolated events. They are part of a web of schemes targeting programs that are intended to lift up Minnesotans and bleeding them dry. From where I sit, the scale of the fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and every rock we turn over reveals more.”
Said, who once ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018, now faces up to 25 years in federal prison when sentenced.
The scandal — rife with political connections, taxpayer abuse, and weak oversight — has become a symbol of government waste and bureaucratic failure during the pandemic. And with new convictions still emerging, Minnesota’s progressive establishment continues to face uncomfortable scrutiny.