Minnesota fraud: 79th person charged in Feeding Our Future scheme

The 79th defendant — and a viral daycare

Federal prosecutors charged a 79th person in connection with the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme: Fahima Mahamud, who operated a food site called Future Leaders Early Learning Center. According to a newly unsealed criminal complaint, she faces one count of wire fraud. She was arrested before a scheduled international flight.

The site, investigators say, was also featured in a viral video that thrust Minnesota child-care centers back into the spotlight. Court records allege that after the center joined Feeding Our Future as a sponsor, its claims ballooned — by February 2021 it reported serving nearly 60,000 meals a month to children.

The complaint cites an email exchange in which a Feeding Our Future staffer relayed Mahamud’s request to increase a meal claim “from 500 to 1,000,” and Aimee Bock allegedly replied: “Just let her.”

Forensic analysis cited in the filing indicates the center’s account received more than $850,000 in meal reimbursements over roughly seven months — but only about $125,000 was spent on food. Large payments, investigators say, went to Mahamud and associated companies and toward property purchases.

The charge was notable as the first filed after a wave of departures among federal prosecutors in Minnesota — a sign the case continues to expand.

Track every charge and verdict on the Feeding Our Future investigation hub.