Star Tribune
Bloomington man pleads guilty to wire fraud in $250 million Feeding Our Future case
A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of wire fraud — the latest defendant to plead guilty in the sprawling Feeding Our Future case.
Abdulkadir Awale, 50, agreed to pay restitution of $2.1 million and admitted to knowingly defrauding the government.
Prosecutors say he falsely claimed to serve 3.6 million meals to low-income children at multiple sites through his businesses, Karmel Coffee, Sambusa King and Nawal Restaurant. He received $11.8 million in federal funding for providing the reported meals between April 2020 and January 2022.
Instead, prosecutors say he used the money to pay off his mortgage, transfer funds to personal accounts and buy vehicles, including two semitrailer trucks. Prosecutors say he also gave $83,000 in kickbacks to Abdikerm Eidleh, an employee at Feeding Our Future, a St. Anthony nonprofit at the center of the alleged fraud scheme. Eidleh has also been charged, but FBI agents have said he fled the country.
According to court documents, Awale spent minimal amounts of the federal money on food and, of the $11.8 million, $2.1 million was fraudulently obtained for himself. As part of the restitution, he agreed to forfeit five vehicles and properties in Savage and Burnsville.
A message left with Awale’s attorney, Christa Groshek, wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday night.
The FBI raided Feeding Our Future’s offices in January 2022. Prosecutors later said the massive scheme totaling more than $250 million was one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in the country. Since September, 60 people have been charged in the case.
Prosecutors allege that defendants stole U.S. Department of Agriculture money meant to reimburse schools, nonprofits and child-care centers for feeding low-income students after school and in the summer. Instead, prosecutors say defendants in the case used money to buy luxury cars, lakefront homes or pay kickbacks.
The federal government has seized more than $50 million in property tied to the case.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will auction off state lands in popular northern counties next month.
The public land — in Aitkin, Cook, Itasca, and St. Louis counties — will go up for sale during the Department of Natural Resource’s annual online public land sale from Nov. 7 to 21.
“These rural and lakeshore properties may appeal to adjacent landowners or offer recreational opportunities such as space for a small cabin or camping,” the DNR said in a statement.
Properties will be available for bidding Nov. 7 through Nov. 21.
This all can trim for print: The properties include:
40 acres in Aitkin County, with a minimum bid of $85,000
44 acres in Cook County, minimum bid $138,000
1.9 acres in Itasca County, minimum bid $114,000
Minneapolis city officials say razor wire, concrete barriers and fencing will be removed from around the former Third Precinct police station – which was set ablaze by protesters after George Floyd’s police killing – in the next three weeks. The burned-out vestibule will be removed within three months with construction fencing to be erected closer to the building.
This week, Minneapolis City Council members have expressed frustration that four years after the protests culminated in a fire at the police station, the charred building still stands and has become a “prop” some conservatives use to rail against city leadership. Most recently, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a stop outside the building and criticized Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the 2020 riots.
On Thursday, the council voted 8-3 to approve a resolution calling for “immediate cleanup, remediation, and beautification of the 3000 Minnehaha site including but not limited to the removal of fencing, jersey barriers, barbed wire, and all other exterior blight.”
Council Member Robin Wonsley said the city needs to acknowledge that many police officers stationed in the Third Precinct “waged racist and violent actions” against residents for decades.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said the council wants the building cleaned up and beautified “immediately.”
“We cannot allow for this corner to be a backdrop for those who wish to manipulate the trauma of our city for political gain,” Chowdhury said.
Council Member Katie Cashman said the council shouldn’t be divided by “right-wing figures posing in front of the Third Precinct and pandering to conservative interests.”
“It’s really important for us to stay united in our goal, to achieve rehabilitation of this site in a way that advances racial healing and acknowledgement of the past trauma in this community, and to not let those figures divide us here,” she said.
It’s MEA weekend — the four-day stretch in mid-October when educators traditionally flock to St. Paul RiverCentre for a conference organized by the statewide teachers union as students and their families take an extended break.
Some orchards offer visitors the opportunity to pick their own fruit, while others operate sprawling general stores that sell a variety of apple-themed goodies.
Tiger cub twins Amaliya (female), left, and Andrei (male), right, who were born in May, hang out with their mother, Amur tiger Sundari, after making their debut in their new public habitat at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com (Leila Navidi)
October is usually a happenin’ month at the Minnesota Zoo. The annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is chock-full of meticulously decorated gourds, and this year’s event runs until Nov. 2. Tickets start at $18 for adults and $14 for children (kids younger than 2 get in free but must still register for tickets). The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular begins at 6 p.m.
But there’s another new attraction at the zoo these days: the pair of Amur tiger cubs born to 7-year-old mom Bernadette just a couple of months ago. This week, zoo officials named the young felines Marisa and Maks. The zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
Patrons enjoy drinks and dinner on the patio Thursday evening, July 18, 2024 at Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia. Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia features a large back deck/patio area with views of Lake Waconia. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
With so many people out of town, there’s no better time to visit some of the Twin Cities’ most popular eateries.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings