It seems that the epidemic of fraud in Democrat-controlled Minnesota just reached a new level with the latest case resulting in another conviction.
A former senior policy aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for his role in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scheme that siphoned millions of dollars from a taxpayer-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abdi Nur Salah, of St. Paul, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel after previously pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors said Salah received approximately $1.66 million through the Federal Child Nutrition Program and used shell companies to launder fraud proceeds that were ultimately spent on homes, real estate and businesses.
Salah is the 31st defendant sentenced in the sprawling Feeding Our Future investigation, which prosecutors say involved approximately $250 million in fraudulent claims.
“This defendant decided to steal funds meant for vulnerable children,” U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said. “Today’s sentence represents my office’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who defraud the American taxpayers.”
Salah’s involvement centered on Stigma-Free International, a nonprofit organization sponsored by Feeding Our Future.
According to court documents, Salah acquired Stigma-Free International in October 2020, shortly after the Minnesota Department of Education announced it would no longer approve new Federal Child Nutrition Program sites operated by restaurants and other for-profit businesses.
Prosecutors said Salah obtained the nonprofit to facilitate the fraud and subsequently transferred ownership to his co-conspirators.
Those individuals used Stigma-Free International to establish child nutrition sites in several Minnesota communities, including Willmar, Mankato, St. Cloud, Waite Park and St. Paul.
From November 2020 through November 2021, the conspirators claimed that those locations had served nearly five million meals to children.
Federal investigators determined those claims were fraudulent.
The conspirators submitted fabricated attendance rosters and invoices to support the meal claims, according to the Justice Department.
Based on that documentation, Feeding Our Future distributed more than $10 million in federal child nutrition reimbursements to Stigma-Free International sites.
Salah personally received approximately $1.66 million in federal child nutrition funds, prosecutors said.
Investigators said he created and used multiple shell companies to receive and launder his share of the money before spending proceeds on personal investments and property.
“Abdi Nur Salah and his co-conspirators used taxpayer money meant to support hungry children to buy themselves a life of luxury,” FBI Minneapolis Acting Special Agent in Charge Benni Jonsson said.
“In defrauding the Federal Child Nutrition Program of more than $1.6 million, what this defendant bought himself is a federal prison sentence.”
Salah previously served as a senior policy aide in Frey’s administration.
He was working for the Minneapolis mayor’s office during part of the period in which the fraud occurred and was fired after allegations against him became public in 2022.
There is no allegation that Frey participated in or had knowledge of Salah’s criminal conduct.
Salah was indicted Sept. 13, 2022, as federal prosecutors unveiled the first major wave of charges stemming from the Feeding Our Future investigation.
He pleaded guilty Jan. 28, 2025, to one count of wire fraud.
His defense attorney, Brian Toder, had sought home detention and expressed surprise after Brasel imposed the 33-month prison sentence.
Toder said the plea agreement characterized Salah as a minimal participant but acknowledged that the agreement did not bind the judge.
“The judge can do whatever she wants to do,” Toder told FOX 9 following sentencing, adding that Brasel appeared to place significant weight on Salah’s status as a government employee while the fraud was occurring.
In addition to the prison term, Salah was sentenced to two years of supervised release. Federal authorities have also pursued forfeiture of assets linked to proceeds from the scheme.
The broader Feeding Our Future investigation has become one of the country’s largest prosecutions involving fraud against pandemic-era government programs.
Prosecutors say participants exploited temporary changes to federal nutrition programs intended to make it easier to provide meals to children during school closures and other disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Feeding Our Future sponsored hundreds of meal sites and submitted reimbursement claims to the Minnesota Department of Education.
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