MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis woman has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for her role in the $250 million fraud scheme involving the Feeding Our Future child nutrition program. The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick for the District of Minnesota.
Sahra Mohamed Nur, 63, was also ordered to pay $5,000,240 in restitution after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel, who called the loss “staggering” and said the fraud severely eroded public trust in government programs, noting that it had “tragically” damaged the reputation of the Somali-American community.
Fraudulent Use of COVID-19 Relief Funds
According to court documents, between December 2020 and January 2022, Nur conspired with others to exploit the Federal Child Nutrition Program, which was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to address food insecurity among children.
As owner and operator of S & S Catering Inc., Nur initially participated in the program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. As the scheme progressed, her company also acted as a vendor for multiple affiliated food distribution sites.
- Between September 2020 and April 2021, Nur claimed S & S Catering alone served over 1.2 million meals to children.
- Between December 2020 and December 2021, sites using her company reported serving more than 8 million meals.
These inflated or entirely fabricated meal claims led to over $10 million in payments to S & S Catering and more than $16 million in reimbursements from Feeding Our Future. Rather than using the funds to feed children, Nur diverted the money for personal enrichment, including commercial real estate investments.
Broader Federal Investigation
Nur was among eight defendants charged in a 23-count federal indictment in September 2022. She pleaded guilty on September 7, 2023.
The case is part of a broader investigation into one of the largest COVID-19 relief fraud cases in the nation. The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service led the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson, Harry M. Jacobs, Matthew S. Ebert, and Daniel W. Bobier. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is managing the seizure and forfeiture of Nur’s assets.
