MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S. federal prosecutors have charged Muna Waceys Fidhin in a fraud scheme involving COVID-era child nutrition funding.
Fidhin, 44, was arrested Friday in Minneapolis. She faces 10 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery, prosecutors announced.
She is married to Somaliland’s foreign minister, Abdirahman Daahir Aadan, and chairs the Waddani opposition party’s U.S. branch, sources confirmed.
Authorities allege she stole $1 million by falsely claiming to feed thousands of children, then used the money for personal expenses.
She allegedly spent the funds on a mortgage, a vehicle, and overseas transfers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
The charges are part of a broader investigation into Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit that distributed federal child nutrition program funds.
During COVID-19, the USDA loosened rules to keep feeding low-income children, which allowed widespread fraud through fake food distribution sites.
Feeding Our Future grew rapidly, managing $3.4 million in 2019 and nearly $200 million by 2021, investigators said.
Founder Aimee Bock was convicted of fraud in June 2024 and is awaiting sentencing in federal court, according to prosecutors.
Fidhin allegedly used M5 Café and a nonprofit, M5 Care, to submit fake claims under Feeding Our Future and a partner agency.
She claimed to feed 500 children daily and submitted false invoices, ultimately billing for over 300,000 meals never served.
She also paid $27,000 in kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee to keep her operation running smoothly, investigators allege.
The investigation is led by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Officials say more arrests are expected in what they call one of Minnesota’s largest public fraud schemes in recent history.
Fidhin has not entered a plea. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.