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'Feeding Our Future' trial to hear opening statements Monday

The first seven defendants are on trial in a case federal prosecutors have called the nation's largest case of pandemic-era fraud go on trial.

MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's Note: The attached video first aired on April 22, 2024. 

After a week of jury selection, opening statements are scheduled for the trial federal prosecutors have called the nation's largest case of pandemic-era fraud to go on trial. 

The first seven defendants will be in a Minneapolis courtroom Monday, on trial from the organization "Feeding Our Future." 

Prosecutors charged a total of 70 people associated with "Feeding Our Future," accused of bilking the federal government out of $250 million to feed underserved children when COVID shut down schools in 2020 and 2021. The government alleged that instead of helping kids, the defendants lied about the number of meals they distributed and collected millions to buy luxury vehicles, homes and exotic vacations. 

RELATED: Ten more people were charged in Feeding Our Future fraud case

“This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger said when initial charges were announced in the Feeding Our Future scandal. “These defendants exploited a program designed to provide nutritious food to needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they prioritized their own greed, stealing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funds to purchase luxury cars, houses, jewelry and coastal resort property abroad."

The trial is expected to last around two months. Several defendants have already entered guilty pleas, and federal prosecutors anticipate that others will watch how the first trial comes out before deciding their pleas. 

RELATED: Former 'Feeding our Future' leader files counterclaim against MN Department of Education

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