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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | St. Paul Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Feeding Our Future Fraud Case
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 2, 2026). A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, becoming the 31st defendant sentenced in the sprawling federal prosecution.
Federal prosecutors say Abdi Nur Salah received approximately $1.66 million from the child nutrition program while sites connected to the scheme falsely claimed nearly five million meals.
U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel sentenced Abdi Nur Salah on Thursday after he previously pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme involving federally funded child nutrition reimbursements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal prosecutors say Salah received approximately $1.66 million through the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
According to court documents summarized by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota, Salah and his co-conspirators operated meal sites through a nonprofit called Stigma-Free International, which was sponsored by Feeding Our Future.
Prosecutors say Salah acquired Stigma-Free International in October 2020, shortly after the Minnesota Department of Education stopped approving meal sites operated by restaurants and other for-profit businesses.
Ownership was subsequently transferred to co-conspirators who used the nonprofit to establish meal sites in communities including Willmar, Mankato, St. Cloud, Waite Park and Saint Paul.
Between November 2020 and November 2021, prosecutors say those sites submitted fraudulent attendance rosters and invoices claiming that nearly five million meals had been served to children.
Feeding Our Future subsequently distributed more than $10 million in federal child nutrition reimbursements to the Stigma-Free International sites, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors say Salah also established shell companies that received and laundered his portion of the proceeds. Federal authorities allege that money was then used to purchase homes, other real estate and businesses.
Salah was initially indicted in September 2022 and pleaded guilty in January 2025.
The broader Feeding Our Future investigation centers on allegations that defendants exploited federal programs designed to provide meals to children during the pandemic. Federal authorities have described the overall fraud as approximately $250 million.
The investigation has involved the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
With Salah's sentencing, federal prosecutors say 31 defendants have now been sentenced in connection with the case.
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