Pelican Rapids Man is 68th Defendant to Plead Guilty in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme

(KNSI) – A 36-year-old Twin Cities man has pleaded guilty in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen says Abdirashid Bixi Dool pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for his role in a scheme that took in more than $330,000. Dool is the 68th Feeding Our Future defendant to be convicted.

Dool entered his plea on July 13th and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, from about March 2021 through December 2021 Dool and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims to Feeding Our Future on behalf of two Minnesota nonprofits, Bilaal Mosque Incorporated and the Multicultural Resource Center. The nonprofits claimed to be running meal sites in Pelican Rapids and Moorhead that served tens of thousands of meals to children, but prosecutors say the actual number served was only a fraction of what was reported.

As part of the scheme, Dool submitted falsified meal count sheets, inflated food purchase invoices and fabricated rosters of children supposedly served at the sites. On some occasions he falsely claimed the sites served more than 40,000 meals per week.

Between about March 2021 and February 2022, Bilaal and the Multicultural Resource Center claimed to have served more than 505,000 meals to children. Those claims led the Minnesota Department of Education to pay nearly $1.1 million in federal child nutrition funds to the two nonprofits.

Rosen says the guilty plea is another step toward restoring integrity to programs meant to support children and families and highlights the importance of interagency cooperation in stopping fraud.

The case is part of an ongoing federal investigation into fraud involving pandemic-related child nutrition programs. The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations took part in the probe.

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