Bekam Addissu Merdassa, $250M Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme, Minnesota 2023

Bekam Addissu Merdassa, 40, of Inver Grove Heights, pleaded guilty to his role in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota.

According to court documents, Merdassa knowingly and willfully conspired with others to participate in a fraudulent scheme to obtain and misappropriate millions of dollars in federal child nutrition program funds.

Merdassa used a non-profit entity called Youth Inventors Lab as a shell company to carry out his scheme. He and his co-conspirators enrolled Youth Inventors Lab in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. In support of these fraudulent claims, Merdassa and his co-conspirators prepared and submitted fake invoices purporting to document the purchase of food from a vendor, S & S Catering.

Between December 2020 and June 2021, Youth Inventors Lab claimed to have served over 1.3 million meals and fraudulently received $3,029,786 in reimbursements from Feeding Our Future. Merdassa, along with Hanna Marekegn and Hadith Yusuf Ahmed, pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.

The U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced the guilty plea, stating that the defendants exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The child nutrition program was intended to provide meals to underprivileged children.

The scheme involved the submission of fake invoices, kickback payments, and the use of shell companies to conceal the fraud. Ahmed, an employee of Feeding Our Future, solicited and accepted kickback payments from several sites under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future.

Hanna Marekegn, 40, of Medina, and Hadith Yusuf Ahmed, 34, of Eden Prairie, also pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. Marekegn enrolled her company, Brava Cafe, in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future, claiming she would serve meals to up to 4,000 children per day at her restaurant in Minneapolis.

Defendant/Respondent: Bekam Addissu Merdassa

Criminal Charges: Knowingly and willfully conspiring with others to participate in a fraudulent scheme to obtain and misappropriate millions of dollars in federal child nutrition program funds.

City and State: Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota

Exact Date: (crime date not specified)

Sentence or Outcome: Guilty plea

Dollar Amounts: $3,029,786

Related Federal Cases