Ayan Farah Abukar, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Minnesota 2023

Savage Woman Pleads Guilty for Her Role in $250M Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme

Ayan Farah Abukar, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for her role in the massive scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The scheme exploited changes in the program intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, Abukar was the founder and executive director of Action for East African People, a non-profit which she enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future and Sponsor A. Between October 2020 through 2022, Abukar falsely claimed to be serving as many as 5,000 children a day at her various sites in Bloomington, Minneapolis, Savage, and St. Paul.

In total, Abukar fraudulently received approximately $5.7 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds. As part of the scheme to defraud, Abukar also paid more than $330,000 in kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee. Abukar spent millions on real estate, including a 37-acre commercial property in Lakeville and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase an aircraft in Nairobi, Kenya.

The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Minnesota Joseph H. Thompson, Harry M. Jacobs, Matthew S. Ebert, and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting the case.

Abukar pleaded guilty today in U.S District Court before Chief Judge Schiltz to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

The Federal Child Nutrition Program was intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Abukar and her co-defendants exploited the program for their own financial gain, enriching themselves by fraudulently misappropriating millions of dollars in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.

Abukar, a resident of Savage, Minnesota, is currently awaiting sentencing. The case highlights the importance of holding individuals accountable for their actions and ensuring that those who abuse government programs are brought to justice.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/savage-woman-pleads-guilty-her-role-250-million-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme