The ‘Feeding Our Future’ scandal was the largest covid fraud in the nation. During the pandemic schools were closed but many parents still had to go to work and could not stay home to feed their kids. The Minnesota government set up a program whereby vendors would provide meals for children in place of school lunches. The vendors would provide the meals, then bill the government and be reimbursed for the cost of the food. Feeding Our Future was a nonprofit that scammed the state out of $250 million by pretending to provide meals to large numbers of children, then pocketing most of the money.
Abdiaziz Farah owned the restaurant Empire Cuisine in Shakopee, Minnesota. He and his co-conspirators falsely claimed to have served about 18 million meals to children, submitting fraudulent reimbursement requests totaling around $49 million. Dozens of people were involved in the scheme but Farah was considered one of the leaders. He personally pocketed over $8 million from the fraud, using the money to buy luxury vehicles and real estate in Kenya. He also attempted to flee the country and to bribe jurors.
On August 6, 2025 Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $48 million in restitution.
