MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's note: The video above first aired on March 13, 2023.
A Minneapolis man is facing federal jail time after pleading guilty to his role in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says 40-year-old Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim, also known as Salah Donyale, on Wednesday admitted his guilt on one count of wire fraud.
In a press release, prosecutors say the defendant admitted that he knowingly took part in a scheme to defraud the federal child nutrition program designed to provide meals to children in need between April of 2020 and January of 2022. Omar Hashim created a company called Olive Management Inc. under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future and claimed he was serving meals to 3,000 children seven days a week.
A criminal complaint says the defendant prepared and submitted fake meal count sheets and invoices, while conspirators provided a fake attendance roster listing the names of 2,040 children who attended the Olive Management's after-school program. Of the approximately 2,040 names on the list, only 20 or so matched the actual names of children attending school in the St. Cloud Public School District.
Prosecutors say the defendant and his co-conspirators claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals, receiving approximately $7,490,711 in bogus Federal Child Nutrition Program reimbursements.
Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim will be sentenced at a later date.
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