Fraud in Minnesota

MPR News
What's the deal with fraud in Minnesota? The Feeding Our Future scandal, explained.

Fraud in Minnesota has become a flashpoint for incendiary comments about Somali-Americans by President Donald Trump, as well as a sticking point in the 2026 Minnesota gubernatorial election. It's also resulted in a fair bit of misinformation and disinformation in the news.

Brothers plead not guilty to bribing Feeding Our Future juror
Two of the brothers charged with trying to bribe a juror in the Feeding Our Future trial last month each entered not guilty pleas at separate hearings Wednesday. Said and Abdulkarim Farah are among five people who allegedly conspired to deliver a Hallmark gift bag with $120,000 to the home of a woman known publicly as juror 52.
Alleged cash courier pleads not guilty to bribing Feeding Our Future juror
A woman accused of trying to bribe a juror at the recent Feeding Our Future trial entered not guilty pleas to multiple felony charges. Ladan Mohamed Ali made her first appearance before Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko in St. Paul on Thursday.
New Feeding Our Future charges: Prosecutors say 5 tried to bribe juror with $120K
Hoping to corrupt the recent trial, the alleged conspirators targeted the woman known as juror 52 because they believed her to be the youngest on the jury and the only person of color, but “juror 52 could not be bought,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said Wednesday.
Breaking down findings of Minnesota Department of Education audit over Feeding our Future fraud
A report from the Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s office finds that ”actions and inactions” by the Minnesota Department of Education created opportunities for fraud in two taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs.
Legislative auditor: Minnesota Department of Education ‘created opportunities for fraud’
A strongly worded report by the state’s legislative auditor finds that "actions and inactions" by the Minnesota Department of Education opened the door for fraud in two taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs.
Jury convicts five of seven defendants in the Feeding Our Future trial
At the trial, prosecutors showed the jury page after page of bank statements, canceled checks, invoices, WhatsApp messages and meal site attendance sheets to bolster their allegations that the group falsely claimed to have served 18 million meals during the COVID pandemic, for which they collected $47 million in taxpayer money.
Feeding Our Future prosecutor says juror was offered $120K to acquit
“This juror was terrified. This juror remains at risk for retaliation,” Judge Nancy Brasel said late Monday afternoon as she ordered all seven defendants detained pending a verdict. Jurors are sequestered.