MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Shakopee Couple Sentenced to Combined 97 Months for Obtaining $8.8 Million in Feeding Our Future Fraud

Federal prosecutors say Mekfira Hussein and Abduljabar Hussein submitted fraudulent child-meal claims as part of the sprawling $250 million federal nutrition-program scheme

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (September 10, 2026). A Shakopee couple who federal prosecutors say obtained approximately $8.8 million in federal child-nutrition funds through fraudulent meal claims have been sentenced to a combined 97 months in federal prison in the continuing Feeding Our Future prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel imposed the sentences September 8.

Mekfira Hussein, 42, was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Abduljabar Hussein, 45, was sentenced to 40 months on the same offense.

Mekfira Hussein pleaded guilty January 31, 2025. Abduljabar Hussein entered his guilty plea February 5, 2025.

Federal prosecutors announced the sentences Wednesday.

The government says the couple submitted fraudulent claims for meals purportedly served to children and ultimately obtained approximately $8.8 million through federal child-nutrition programs.

Their cases are part of the larger Feeding Our Future prosecution, which federal authorities have described as a roughly $250 million fraud scheme involving money intended to provide meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal child-nutrition programs at issue were expanded during the pandemic as government officials attempted to ensure children continued receiving meals while schools and other institutions were disrupted.

That expansion also changed some traditional program controls, creating an environment prosecutors say Feeding Our Future and associated meal sites exploited on a massive scale.

Federal authorities have spent years investigating the network of organizations, businesses and individuals accused of submitting false meal counts and attendance records and receiving reimbursements for meals prosecutors say were never served.

The Husseins' sentences represent the latest stage of that broader prosecution.

Unlike defendants awaiting trial, both had already admitted criminal responsibility through their guilty pleas.

Their sentencing therefore concerned punishment for offenses to which they had pleaded guilty rather than unresolved allegations of guilt.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy and Austin L. Bowyer prosecuted the criminal cases, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling asset seizure and forfeiture matters.

The combined 97-month prison term does not mean either defendant received a 97-month individual sentence.

Mekfira Hussein received 57 months and Abduljabar Hussein 40 months. The Justice Department described the two sentences collectively because together they total 97 months.

The $8.8 million figure similarly represents the amount prosecutors say the couple obtained through fraudulent claims, not the total value of the larger Feeding Our Future case.

The broader investigation involves approximately $250 million in alleged fraud and numerous defendants prosecuted through separate criminal cases.

More than four years after the first major federal charges exposed the scope of the Feeding Our Future investigation, sentencing proceedings continue to move defendants from allegations and guilty pleas into final criminal judgments.

For the Husseins, that process has now resulted in nearly eight years of combined federal imprisonment.

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