16th Feeding Our Future defendant pleads guilty

A 16th defendant in the Feeding Our Future cases pleaded guilty Wednesday in the sprawling fraud scheme, admitting he exaggerated the number of meals served to children in need in St. Cloud.

Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim, 39, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and confirmed to U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Brasel that he "vastly inflated" the 3,000 children a day that he claimed to serve out of a strip mall between 2020 and 2022. As a result, he and his company, Olive Management, Inc., received about $5 million in federal reimbursements.

His attorney Kristin Hendrick added that prosecutors have verified invoices showing some food was purchased. Prosecutors said only 20 out of 2,000 children listed on attendance rosters matched St. Cloud school records. Omar-Hashim told Brasel that some people who received meals wouldn't give their real names, but "we added some names, yes."

https://www.startribune.com/16th-feeding-our-future-defendant-pleads-guilty/600326675/