Feeding Our Future Fraud Leader Gets 28-Year Prison Sentence
Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man described by federal prosecutors as one of the leaders of the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in Minnesota was sentenced today to a lengthy prison term.
A news release announcing the sentencing of 36-year-old Abdiaziz Shafi Farah also states that the amount of money stolen from taxpayers through the fraud scheme has grown from the previously reported $250 million. The Office of the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota now indicates the total is around $300 million.
According to court documents and evidence presented at his trial, Farah and his co-defendants stole more than $47 million from a federal child nutrition program used to provide meals during the COVID pandemic. He was the co-owner of Empire Cuisine and Market and, according to federal prosecutors, was among the first defendants "to see an opportunity for fraud and exploit it."
The news release says the fraud scheme used fictitious names to create rosters of children purportedly fed meals by his organization. Prosecutors say many of the names were “absurd and obviously fake,” including names like “Serious Problem” and “Britishy Melony.”
Farah was apprehended after he fraudulently obtained a new passport and purchased a one-way ticket to Kenya in an attempt to flee the U.S. Federal prosecutors say Farah owned property in Kenya that was paid for with taxpayer funds he had stolen. The news release also details the purchase of luxury vehicles and real estate in the Twin Cities and other locations in the U.S. and overseas. Prosecutors say the money he laundered overseas and his international real estate holdings are “beyond the reach of American law enforcement.”
Farah was sentenced today to 28 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He has also been ordered to pay nearly $49 million in restitution.
Following his conviction for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud, Farah also entered a guilty plea to a bribery charge for attempting to bribe a member of the jury in his trial with $120,000 in cash. The Office of the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota notes that he still awaits sentencing in that case.
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Gallery Credit: Ken Hayes
