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Partners in Nutrition Will Pay $18.5 Million and Dissolve Under Child-Nutrition Fraud Settlement
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (September 25, 2026). Partners in Nutrition has agreed to surrender more than $18.5 million and dissolve the organization under a civil settlement with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
The settlement follows allegations that the nonprofit submitted false reimbursement claims involving federally funded child-nutrition programs between October 2020 and February 2022. The state alleged that claims included meals that had not been served and that the organization failed to provide effective oversight of food-distribution sites operating under its sponsorship.
Under the agreement, Partners in Nutrition will pay $18,517,909.27, described as all the money remaining in the organization’s possession. It must also provide additional records concerning its work as a food-program sponsor before dissolving.
A failure to comply could expose the organization to an additional $1 million civil penalty.
Attorney General Keith Ellison compared elements of the case with the Feeding Our Future scandal, although he distinguished the alleged conduct of Partners in Nutrition’s leadership from the extensive direct theft uncovered in that separate federal investigation.
Ellison said at least one person associated with Partners in Nutrition has been referred for possible criminal prosecution and that additional referrals remain possible. The civil settlement itself does not establish an individual’s criminal guilt. Decisions about criminal charges would rest with federal prosecutors or an appropriate county attorney.
The case raises continuing questions about how sponsoring organizations, the Minnesota Department of Education and other agencies evaluate extraordinary reimbursement claims before public money is distributed.
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