Former Aide Gets 33 Months for Role in $250M Child Nutrition Fraud
Abdi Nur Salah sentenced to 33 months for involvement in massive child nutrition program fraud.
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Abdi Nur Salah, a former aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in one of the largest fraud schemes in American history, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week. The scheme, known as the Feeding Our Future case, involved a $250 million fraud that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fraudulent Use of Federal Funds
Prosecutors described the case as one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S. history. Much of the stolen money was used to purchase luxury cars, jewelry, real estate, and even overseas accounts, primarily funneled through Minnesota-based nonprofit organizations tied to the local Somali community. A total of 78 people were indicted or charged by the DOJ in connection with the scheme.
Salah was originally charged by indictment on September 13, 2022, and pleaded guilty on January 28, 2025. He is the 31st defendant sentenced in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
Operation of Fraudulent Nonprofit
According to court documents, Salah and his co-conspirators operated a non-profit Federal Child Nutrition Program meal site called Stigma-Free International, which was sponsored by Feeding Our Future. When the Minnesota Department of Education announced it would no longer approve food sites run by restaurants and other for-profit companies, Salah acquired a non-profit entity, Stigma-Free International, to continue the fraudulent scheme.
Salah then transferred ownership of Stigma-Free International to his co-conspirators, who used it to open new Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout Minnesota. For 12 months from November 2020 to November 2021, Salah’s co-conspirators fraudulently claimed to have served nearly five million meals to children at the Stigma-Free International sites, including by submitting fraudulent attendance rosters and invoices. Based on these claims, Feeding Our Future paid out over $10 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program reimbursements to the Stigma-Free International sites.
Use of Shell Companies and Self-Enrichment
Salah also created and used multiple shell companies to receive and launder his share of the fraud proceeds. He used the funds for self-enrichment, including purchasing homes, real estate, and businesses. In total, Salah received approximately $1,660,000 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen stated, “This defendant decided to steal funds meant for vulnerable children. Today’s sentence represents my office’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who defraud the American taxpayers.”
Robert J. Kuszynski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Chicago Field Office, added, “Families counted on that program during a hard time, while he helped take from it. You can dress a scheme up as a nonprofit, but you can’t make the money trail disappear. Our special agents followed it, and today Salah answers for where it led.”
Source: The Gateway Pundit
