First ‘Feeding Our Future’ Fraud defendant Gets 12 years in prison
The first defendant in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
In addition to the 144-month prison sentence, Mohamed Jama Ismail, 51, of Savage, must serve three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $47,920,514 in restitution, along with his co-defendants.
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Ismail was convicted on June 7, 2024, after a six-week trial in U.S. District Court. He was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering. As the owner and operator of Empire Cuisine and Market LLC, Ismail used his business to take part in the scheme by acting as both a meal site and a vendor for other fraudulent locations. His business also served as a vehicle to launder stolen funds.
The fraud involved manipulating the Federal Child Nutrition Program, which provides reimbursements for the cost of meals served to children in need. Ismail and his co-defendants exploited program changes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure children from underserved communities could access meals. Investigators determined the defendants fraudulently obtained more than $40 million in program funds through false documentation.
Evidence at trial showed that Ismail and his co-conspirators submitted fabricated meal count sheets and invoices claiming they had served meals to children, along with fraudulent food purchase receipts. They also provided attendance rosters with fictitious names and ages of children who purportedly received meals. These fraudulent documents were used to justify reimbursement requests for meals that were never served.
At sentencing, the judge emphasized the scale and audacity of the scheme. “The taxpayers in Minnesota are rightfully outraged by the brazenness and the scope of [Ismail’s] crime. The evidence at trial was frankly breathtaking,” she said. “When the world was at its most vulnerable, [Ismail] decided not to be a helper, but to be a thief.”
The case is part of a broader investigation involving numerous defendants and millions of dollars in stolen public funds. Authorities said that the Feeding Our Future scheme represents one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in U.S. history.
Ismail's conviction marks the first of many expected sentences as prosecutors continue cases against other defendants involved.
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