MINNEAPOLIS — The 50th suspect charged in connection to the massive Feeding Our Future fraud appeared in court Wednesday and was accused of receiving millions of dollars in the scheme.
Abduljabar Hussein appeared in federal court Wednesday and was charged on the same indictment as his wife, Mekfira Hussein, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He allegedly created a company that claimed to have provided food at his wife's meal sites and Mekfira is accused of diverting at least $5.4 million to her husband's business. Mekfira also allegedly booked a flight to Ethiopia the day indictments were released.
According to the indictment, just a fraction of the $5.4 million went to food while the couple claimed to have provided 3.4 million meals, and also claimed "Shamsia Hopes" meal sites needed $10.4 million in federal child nutrition program funds.
In total, the indictment alleges the couple's meal sites received $7.8 million and they spent the money on luxury vehicles, their mortgage and more, KARE 11's Lou Raguse reported from court.
The couple also face seven counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery and money laundering, which brings the total number of charges they face to 19.
Last month, Feeding Our Future was accused of defrauding the federal government about $250 million.
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