Husband and wife plead guilty to wire fraud in Feeding Our Future case

Sarah Nelson, Star Tribune on Mar 18, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — A married couple on Wednesday pleaded guilty ahead of trial next month to their roles defrauding the federal Feeding Our Future child nutrition program.

Ikram Yusuf Mohamed, 42, and her husband, Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, 46, are the latest defendants to enter pleas in the massive $300 million pandemic fraud case that’s seen 79 people charged and drawn national scrutiny.

Mohamed admitted in a Minneapolis federal courtroom to leading a major part of the scheme as a consultant for the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future and recruiting her relatives to participate. In court, Mohamed confirmed she pocketed $1.3 million through her IM Consultation LLC and enrolled several meal sites under her relatives’ names — including her mother, siblings and husband – through Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship.

From February to December 2021, Abdisalam’s Inspiring Youth & Out Reach LLC received more than $1.5 million in federal child nutrition program funds by submitting rosters of children and meal counts purporting to serve 700,000 kids in nearly a year and dispersing reimbursement payments to his co-conspirators.

“You knew those rosters were fraudulent?” asked assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Kline.

“Yes,” Abdisalam replied.

The couple pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud. Mohamed’s plea calculated a sentence that could range from 78 months in prison to as many as 121 months. Abdisalam’s sentencing guidelines vary from 10 months in prison to 27 months. Their sentencing dates have been scheduled.

Mohamed was one of several people with ties to the Feeding Our Future case who met with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2021 just one month before FBI raids made the fraud public. In an audio recording of the meeting, the group — many of them East African business owners — are heard accusing state agencies of being discriminatory and targeting them.

In the meeting, the group promised political and financial support for Ellison, and he expressed sympathy over their allegations of discrimination and told them he would look into it. But he dismissed their entreaties to help him politically.

The married couple are the first wave of defendants charged in the same indictment scheduled to plead guilty this week. Four additional defendants, including Mohamed’s sister, brother and mother, are slated to enter pleas on Friday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. Among those scheduled to plead: Suleman Yusuf Mohamed, Aisha Hassan Hussein, Sahra Sharif Osman and Fadumo Mohamed Yusuf. In total, Feeding Our Future received more than $14 million in program funds through claims submitted by the group.

Earlier Wednesday, the remaining defendant charged in the same indictment rejected a plea deal offered by the U.S. government. Gandi Yusuf Mohamed, Ikram Yusuf Mohamed’s brother, will instead stand trial as planned on April 20 for multiple counts including money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Proceedings are expected to last five to six weeks.

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