Defense attorney homes in on FBI’s disparate treatment of sponsors in Feeding Our Future trial

An FBI agent was grilled Thursday about why the agency treated two nonprofits—Partners in Quality Care and Feeding Our Future—differently while investigating the alleged theft of millions of dollars designated to feed needy children.

Both nonprofits served as sponsors that distributed federal money to smaller businesses, which were supposed to provide ready-to-eat meals to local children. And both organizations worked with several people who are among the 70 defendants charged with allegedly stealing $250 million from the federal Child Nutrition Program.

But federal investigators only served search warrants on one sponsor organization—Feeding Our Future, defense attorney Andrew Birrell noted while cross-examining FBI special agent Jared Kary.

Feeding Our Future’s former executive director, Aimee Bock, and two former employees are charged in the case. Another former employee from the organization was charged and has pleaded guilty. No Partners in Quality Care employees are charged in the case.

Kary testified Wednesday and Thursday in the first Feeding Our Future trial, which began last week with jury selection. Seven defendants are being jointly tried for allegedly stealing $40 million; they mostly worked for businesses that used Partners in Quality Care as a sponsor.

Birrell, who is representing defendant Abdiaziz Farah, pointed out that a Partners in Quality Care employee tipped off the FBI about possible fraud in February 2021, two months before the Minnesota Department of Education reported the same concerns.

The tip from Christine Twait, who co-founded Partners in Quality Care, was centered around Aimee Bock, who was executive director of Feeding Our Future at the time, Kary testified.

Partners in Quality Care and Feeding Our Future were rivals with a complicated history. Twait, Kara Lomen, who was Partners’ other co-founder, and Bock all started working together at Partners in Quality Care in 2015. But Twait and Lomen’s relationship with Bock eventually deteriorated , and they fired Bock in 2018.

Bock then took over Feeding Our Future. The three women founded Feeding Our Future together in 2016, but Bock became its executive director and managed it on her own after leaving Partners. Under questioning from Birrell, Kary testified that Twait’s tip prompted FBI agents to interview people about the alleged fraud. In a heated exchange Thursday afternoon, Birrell asked Kary why he didn’t disclose to jurors earlier in his two days of testimony that Twait’s tip spawned the FBI investigation.

Birrell asked Kary if he intended “to lead” the jury into believing that the FBI first learned about the alleged fraud when the Minnesota Department of Education reported its concerns in April 2021. Prosecutors objected to the question, but U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel allowed jurors to hear Kary’s testimony.

“I would never intend to mislead the jury,” Kary answered. “I was aware of it [Twait’s tip]. It was something that never really stuck out in my mind.”

The education department oversaw disbursement of the federal money by distributing it to the sponsor organizations, which then disseminated it further. The department and sponsors were supposed to help monitor how smaller organizations, known as food vendors and food sites, were using the money.

The alleged fraud occurred when vendors and sites inflated the number of meals they served in order to receive more federal reimbursements; prosecutors allege that some suspects never served any meals at all. Sponsor organizations were tasked with vetting the meal numbers they received, and then reported them to the education department.

Kary explained that Twait’s tip and the subsequent FBI interviews didn’t equate to formally opening an FBI investigation. The FBI formally opened its investigation into the suspected fraud two months later after Emily Honer from the Minnesota Department of Education approached the agency and was interviewed by an agent. Honer testified in trial earlier this week.

Birrell drilled down on why the FBI used different approaches to obtaining records from Feeding Our Future and Partners in Quality Care.

The FBI obtained records from Feeding Our Future by filing sealed search warrant affidavits. The organization’s employees were unaware of the investigation until agents raided the office and the homes of employees and others in January 2022. In contrast, Birrell said in his cross-examination, the FBI sent subpoenas to Partners in Quality Care and worked with its lawyer to obtain documents from the organization.

Kary said investigators used a secretive process to obtain information from Feeding Our Future to avoid alerting its employees and the destruction of business records.

“As for Partners in Nutrition, a decision was made to proceed by a grand jury subpoena?” Birrell asked, referring to a process where someone is ordered by the court to produce documents for inspection or to testify before a grand jury about potential criminal activity.

“Yes,” Kary responded.

Under questioning by Birrell, Kary confirmed that Partners in Quality Care’s lawyer told FBI agents not to talk with Lomen, and that Lomen never appeared before a grand jury. Partners in Quality Care also went by the name Partners in Nutrition.

“You were informed how the subpoenas to Partners In Nutrition were going?” Birrell asked.

“Yes,” Kary answered.

“And you learned that Partners in Nutrition actually never produced all the records it was subpoenaed for?” Birrell asked.

“We had to go back and get some documents,” Kary said.

Birrell asked if Partners in Quality Care didn’t produce some of those records until as late as last month.

Yes, Kary confirmed.

Kary’s testimony continues Friday morning.

Who’s on trial?

The defendants on trial are facing a total of 41 charges, including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering. The defendants are:

• Abdiaziz Farah co-owned Empire Cuisine and Market. Federal prosecutors allege that the Shakopee-based deli and grocery store posed as a meals provider for several food sites, and defrauded the government out of $28 million. Abdiaziz allegedly pocketed more than $8 million for himself. He is also charged with lying on an application to renew his passport after federal agents seized his passport as part of their investigation.

• Mohamed Jama Ismail co-owned Empire Cuisine and Market. Mohamed is Abdiziz’s uncle. He is also owner of MZ Market LLC, which prosecutors allege was a shell company used to launder the stolen money. Mohamed allegedly pocketed $2.2 million. He previously pleaded guilty to passport fraud.

• Abdimajid Nur allegedly created a shell company, Nur Consulting, and laundered stolen money from Empire Cuisine and ThinkTechAct, other alleged shell companies. Abdimajid, who was 21 at the time of his indictment, allegedly pocketed $900,000.

• Hayat Nur allegedly submitted fake meal counts and invoices served at food sites. Court documents identify Hayat as Abdimajid’s sister. Hayat allegedly pocketed $30,000.

• Said Farah co-owned Bushra Wholesalers, which allegedly laundered money by claiming to be a food vendor that provided meals to food sites that then reportedly served children. Court documents identify Said as Abdiaziz’s brother. Said allegedly pocketed more than $1 million.

• Abdiwahab Aftin co-owned Bushra Wholesalers, and allegedly pocketed $435,000.

• Mukhtar Shariff served as CEO of Afrique Hospitality Group, and allegedly used the company to launder stolen money. He allegedly pocketed more than $1.3 million.

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