Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota man accused of being a major player in the "Feeding Our Future" fraud scandal has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison.

The Office of the US Attorney For Minnesota says 34-year-old Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff of Bloomington has also been ordered to pay nearly $48 million in restitution.

“The defendant committed a brazen fraud that shamelessly stole taxpayer money intended to feed children during a global pandemic. He lined his pockets, here and abroad, with millions,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kirkpatrick. “As the Court found, he doubled down on his crimes by obstructing justice. This significant sentence should serve as a clear warning to anyone who would seek to exploit and defraud government programs. You will be held accountable.”

According to evidence presented at his trial last summer, Shariff and his co-defendants perpetrated a scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program by fraudulently claiming to purchase and serve food to children during the COVID- 19 pandemic. He was the CEO of a business called the Afrique Hospitality Group and was found guilty of one count each of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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A news release indicates that at his sentencing hearing on Friday, the federal judge presiding over the case stated that Shariff showed a "staggering lack of respect for the law," and that taxpayers were "outraged by the brazenness of the crime."


 

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors announced on Friday that a Minnesota woman has entered a guilty plea for her role in the "Feeding Our Future" scandal. A news release issued by the US Attorney For Minnesota Office says 43-year-old Ayan Farah Abukar of Savage admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and will be sentenced at a later date.

According to court documents, Abukar was the founder and Executive Director of a nonprofit organization named Action for East African People that enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the umbrella sponsorship of Feeding our Future. She was accused of falsely claiming to have served meals to as many as 5000 children a day at various sites in the Twin Cities.

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The charges against her, alleged that she fraudulently received about $5.7 million in reimbursements from the program and also paid more than $330,000 in kickbacks to an employee of the Feeding Our Future organization. Federal prosecutors say she use the proceeds of the fraud scheme to purchase real estate, including a large commercial property in Lakeville, as well as an airplane.

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