A 24-year-old man has been ordered by a federal judge to pay nearly $48 million in restitution and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the largest pandemic fraud scheme in the U.S., the Department of Justice said Monday.
Abdimajid Mohamed Nur of Shakopee, Minnesota, was one of the first 47 people charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in 2022. Nur is also accused of bribing a juror in the case and later pleaded guilty to that charge.
He and six other defendants fraudulently received around $40 million between May 2020 and January 2022, according to the indictment filed in September 2022, though federal officials said that they stole more than $47 million.
Prosecutors said the scheme carried out by the seven people originated at Empire Cuisine and Market in Shakopee. The halal market enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program in April 2020, and participated both as a site and meal vendor, according to court documents.