SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The hand-written sign outside the House of Refuge food shelf in Saint Paul says, "Closed until further notice," as its executive director, Sharon Ross, is now charged in the largest pandemic fraud case in the country.
House of Refuge served families in need, and Ross wanted the nonprofit to take part in the federal meal program during the pandemic — as a meal site — at a time the Minnesota Department of Education wasn't approving any new sites.
Court filings show State Sen. Sandy Pappas helped House of Refuge gain approval.
Now, the indictment charging Ross with 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering says Ross spent taxpayer money on credit card debt, an Infiniti car for her husband and for the purchase of her home in Willernie, which the feds say they are now taking back through forfeiture.
Additionally, the indictment says Ross caused more than $1.3 million to be fraudulently paid to fellow defendant Hanna Marakegn of Brava Cafe for phony food and meals.
All told, the feds say Ross caused at least $2.8 million dollars fraudulent reimbursements from the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
Pappas said she visited House of Refuge in the spring of 2021 before fraud allegations were made public and watched them prepare food for distribution to local families and children.
In a statement, she told KARE 11: "I had no idea about any problems with Feeding our Future, nor about today's revelations about House of Refuge. My interest was supporting the mission to feed children and families."
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: