Feeding Our Future fraud case: Shakopee couple indicted, case now stands at 50 defendants

(FOX 9) - A Shakopee couple was indicted on Wednesday for their alleged roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud case, putting the number of defendants in the massive fraud case at 50.

Mekfira Hussein and her husband Abduljabar Hussein are accused of creating companies that lied about providing meals to children.

Prosecutors say, from October 2020 through 2022, Mekfira claimed her company "Shamsia Hopes" fed as many as 5,000 children a day, seven days a week. Investigators say Abduljabar claimed his company "Oromia Feeds" needed hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide meals at Shamsia sites.

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Overall, prosecutors say Mekfira sent at least $5.4 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds to her husband's company – which only spend a fraction of that money on foods.

On top of all that, prosecutors say Mekfira and Abduljabar paid thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employee Abdikerm Eidleh.

The couple faces a 20-count indictment including charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, and money laundering.