Star Tribune
Eagan woman pleads guilty to wire fraud in Feeding Our Future case
A 42-year-old Eagan woman who used money meant to feed needy children during the pandemic on real estate and high-end vehicle purchases pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud charges.
Kawsar Jama became the 22nd person to admit to their role in the $250 million federal child nutrition fraud case that has led to the indictments of 70 people since 2022. She did so days after a pair of co-defendants in her case made pleas of their own last week.
Jama’s indictment, returned last year as part of a second wave of charges in the sprawling case, alleged a $3.7 million scheme to falsely claim that she served 1.46 million meals to children while under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future between September 2020 and February 2022.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger singled out Jama’s case in a March 2023 news conference announcing charges against her and nine others. Luger said Jama used phony invoices, and none of the children’s names on reimbursement forms matched children enrolled in school locally. Jama allegedly reached out to a friend for help inventing new names as the scheme wore on, and she did not operate a physical location despite claiming be serving meals at one.
Prosecutors said Jama claimed to operate federal food aid sites in Pelican Rapids, Burnsville and Minneapolis. In Pelican Rapids, Jama allegedly claimed to serve 2,560 meals daily to needy children — despite the town having a total population of about 2,500. Some of the money Jama received from the Federal Child Nutrition Program was instead used to buy real estate and vehicles that included a Tesla Model X and Infiniti QX56 SUV.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel, who is presiding over the cases, did not set a sentencing date for Jama. Jama remains out on supervised release ahead of sentencing.
Five brothers and their father were burned when a unit at a storage facility caught fire in northwestern Minnesota.
The explosion and subsequent blaze occurred about 12:30 pm. Monday north of Bagley on 370th Street, the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office said.
Emergency responders arrived and found the man and children ages 6 to 14 with burns, the Sheriff’s Office said. The boys’ sister said the brothers were with their father at the time of the incident.
“Preliminary indications are that a propane tank had been leaking inside the metal storage unit, and when the doors were opened, the adult male lit a cigarette and an explosion ensued,” a Sheriff’s Office statement read.
Kyra Frank identified the five children as her brothers, according to an online fund-raising page she started to help the family with expenses related to the explosion. Frank identified the boys to the Star Tribune by their first names as Keegan, 6; Kaeto, 8; Braedynn, 10; Tannen, 12; and Zander, 14. She said their father, Randy Ritchie, was the man with them at the time. She said Ritchie also was in stable condition.
Frank said in the posting Monday that “all five are in critical condition and have been life-flighted to Hennepin MN for further care. … My mom is a single working parent and is now taking time off to be with her boys. She could use any and all the help given.”
Passersby helped the victims until the emergency responders took over and transferred the six to area hospitals, the Sheriff’s Office said.
In follow-up postings, Frank said all of her brothers were in a burn treatment center, but “there are still a lot of unknowns at this time but they are in stable condition. They have a long road ahead of them.”
Investigators were able to positively match Thompson with the photos and videos that witnesses had submitted of the dog being beat in Minneapolis.
Thompson contacted animal control about the missing dog and arrived to pick up Subliminal. When questioned if he hit his dog, Thompson initially denied it but ultimately admitted that he hit his dogs for discipline. A veterinarian report concluded that Subliminal had, “decreased musculature of right hindlimb” along with bloody scabs on his chin.
Thompson has a lengthy criminal history in Minnesota, including felony convictions for domestic abuse, assault, making terroristic threats and fleeing police. He also has 39 misdemeanor convictions for driving after his license was revoked to go along with two misdemeanor convictions for DWI.
He is due in court Nov. 20 to be arraigned on the charges of cruelty to animals.
BILLINGS, Mont. — Three-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana faces perhaps his toughest reelection challenge yet on Tuesday, with control of the Senate on the line in a state that has veered sharply rightward since the 68-year-old grain farmer’s first election.
Republicans have pinned their hopes on Tim Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of an aerial firefighting company. Sheehy, 38, had early backing from party leaders including former President Donald Trump, clearing the political newcomer’s path to win the June primary.
It is the first time Tester is sharing the same ballot as Trump, who twice won in Montana by wide margins.
Long lines were seen at Montana polling places as a winter storm brought snow to some parts of the state.
A Sheehy victory would seal Republican Party dominance across the five-state Northern Plains region: Tester entered office as one of six Democratic senators in the largely rural swath of American heartland that also includes Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. He is now the only one.
The lawmaker also is the sole remaining Democrat to hold statewide office in Montana.
The candidates and their allies shattered political spending records and barraged voters with almost $300 million in ads on TV, radio, their phones and in their mailboxes. Total spending is expected to reach about $500 for each active registered voter in Montana.
”This is the toughest race since Tester got in,” said political analyst Jeremy Johnson, ”and Tim Sheehy is a real formidable candidate.”
