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By Jenna Sundel
News Reporter
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A Minnesota judge told the state’s Department of Education that it had a “real problem” after the agency suspended payments to an organization before federal prosecutors uncovered a fraud scheme that has now resulted in charges for 78 individuals.
Why It Matters
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota announced on November 24 that Abdirashid Bixi Dool was the 78th defendant charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. He is charged with seven counts, including wire fraud and money laundering. The case has sparked backlash against Democratic Governor Tim Walz, including from people within his own government.
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In 2022, Walz said a judge ordered the state to continue making payments to Feeding Our Future. Walz said he hoped there would be an "investigation into that" when asked if Ramsey County Judge John H. Guthmann should resign.
“Feeding Our Future demanded that MDE make payments, and the court made it clear that if MDE were to continue the legal fight to withhold payments, MDE would incur sanctions and legal penalties,” the Walz administration’s statement told MPR News in 2022. “The court held MDE in contempt for not processing Feeding Our Future Applications.”
The Minnesota Judicial Branch defended Guthmann, saying he never "ordered the Department of Education to resume payments to FOF in April 2021, or at any other time."
What To Know
Feeding Our Future filed a complaint against the Minnesota Department of Education in November 2020, nearly two years before federal prosecutors accused the organization of a fraud scheme in September 2022.
The lawsuit asked the court to compel the Department of Education to comply with federal law and process its applications, alleging that the agency left the applications to "languish" in the first step of the application process for over 60 days.
Feeding Our Future and the Minnesota Department of Education both signed a stipulation to resolve the matter, under which the agency agreed to approve or disapprove applications from Feeding Our Future in a "reasonably prompt manner." Guthmann signed the stipulation.
The Minnesota Department of Education later notified Feeding Our Future in March 2021 that it issued a “stop pay” notice, withholding all federal funds. The state Department of Education said that the organization was "under two serious deficiency letters" and cited "noncompliance with federal regulations." Feeding Our Future filed a motion to resume payments.
At a hearing on the motion on April 21, 2021, Guthmann told state attorneys, “Based on the positions you’ve taken on behalf of the department, the law that’s been given to me, you’ve got a real problem not reimbursing at this stage of the game,” according to a court transcript obtained by KSTP. Guthmann said at the 2021 hearing that he does not have jurisdiction over the issue of withholding pay, according to the transcript.
Guthmann told Newsweek in a statement, "The litigation before me never involved the payment of public funds – fraudulent or otherwise."
The motion was later denied as moot because the Minnesota Department of Education lifted the “stop pay” policy. Guthmann said the order "simply reflected the Department’s decision to voluntarily resume reimbursement payments, which is consistent with its determination that FOF’s serious deficiencies were resolved."
"My reference to sanctions during the hearing related solely to whether the Department violated the consent decree requiring its 'reasonably prompt' consideration of site applications. Not only were there no fraudulent payment issues before the court, the Department issued a letter on June 4, 2021, indicating that FOF’s serious deficiencies were resolved," Guthmann told Newsweek.
In September 2022, federal prosecutors announced that 47 individuals had been charged in connection with a fraud scheme involving the nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future. More individuals have since been charged, with the 78th individual announced last week.
Over three dozen individuals have pleaded guilty to charges related to the fraud scheme, KARE 11 reported. Seven defendants have been found guilty at trial, including the organization’s executive director, Aimee Bock.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme was the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country.
Prosecutors allege that Feeding Our Future recruited individuals to open Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota that fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors said the organization obtained and disbursed more than $240 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
An account claiming to represent 480 staff at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) said on X that Walz "is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota."
The account has since been suspended.
Newsweek reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
Walz told NBC's Meet the Press, when asked if he takes responsibility for not stopping the fraud, "Well, certainly, I take responsibility for putting people in jail."
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What People Are Saying
FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr., in a statement in March: “Stealing from the federal government is stealing from the American people - plain and simple. The egregious fraud uncovered in the Feeding our Future case represents the blatant betrayal of public trust. These criminals stole hundreds of millions in federal funding meant to feed hungry children during a crisis and instead funneled it into luxury homes, cars and lavish lifestyles while families struggled.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick, in a statement in March: “The defendants falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which they fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds. That money did not go to feed kids. Instead, it was used to fund their lavish lifestyles.”
What Happens Next
Criminal proceedings are expected to continue against defendants who are awaiting trial.
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Corrected 12/4/2025 3:30 p.m. ET: This article has been corrected to clarify the timeline surrounding Feeding Our Future's court actions.
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