Mukhtar Shariff grew emotional as he spoke Friday about the impact his crimes in the Feeding Our Future fraud case have had on the Somali community.
He stood in front of U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel in a light gray suit and brown loafers, his ankles shackled together. He wiped away tears at times during his sentencing hearing. Dozens of his supporters packed the courtroom and an overflow room in the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. Some cried as he spoke.
“To know that my actions may have tarnished that image and even fueled negative perceptions of that very community is a heavy burden to bear. But your honor, I carry it with me, because it is mine to bear,” he said.
Brasel ultimately sentenced him to 17-and-a-half years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Last June, Mukhtar Shariff, 34, was convicted at trial alongside four others for taking part in what prosecutors have called the “largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the United States.” He was part of the first group of defendants in the case to stand trial.
Brasel told Mukhtar Shariff that his statements Friday were “dramatically different” than the testimony he gave during trial, which she described as “not credible.”
“The remorse you have shown now is hard for me to evaluate positively,” she said.
Mukhtar Shariff was the CEO of Afrique Hospitality Group, and used the company to launder stolen federal funds that were meant to feed underprivileged children during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to court documents, he pocketed more than $1.3 million.
Jurors convicted him of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. He was acquitted of two counts: one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.
He was the only defendant who testified in his own defense during last year’s trial. He testified that he was recruited by a “respected” community member at Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center, Mahad Ibrahim, to start Afrique Hospitality Group and participate in a federal program that distributed money to local organizations to feed children. Mahad Ibrahim is also a defendant in the Feeding Our Future case.
Mukhtar Shariff’s attorney, Andrew Mohring, argued during Friday’s sentencing hearing that the other defendants convicted last year alongside his client played larger roles in the fraud. Therefore, Mohring argued, Mukhtar Shariff should not be punished as severely.
He requested a sentence between about 6 to 7 years in prison, and also asked the court to consider his client’s character and involvement in the community.
“We’re not here to discuss the defendants, we are here to describe a defendant,” Mohring said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson argued that Mukhtar Shariff played a significant role in the fraud, and worked with other defendants to carry it out. Thompson called his actions “brazen,” and said he was “up to his eyeballs in this scheme.”
Thompson argued for a 22-year prison term.
“He wasn’t being a community leader — he was trying to line his own pockets, that’s what happened here,” Thompson said.
Thompson also said that Mukhtar Shariff lied when he testified in his own defense, and didn’t take accountability for his actions.
“He thought he could get away with it. That’s what this is all about,” he said.
Thompson told reporters after the sentencing that Mukhtar Shariff’s prison term sends a message that “enough is enough.”
“This type of fraud will be taken seriously and punished appropriately,” Thompson said.
Mohring and Mukhtar Shariff’s other attorney, Frederick Goetz, declined to comment on the sentence.
“There will be an appeal,” Mohring said.
Several of Mukhtar Shariff’s supporters declined to comment after the hearing. Some audibly gasped in court when Brasel announced the sentence.
“No justice,” one man said in court.
Brasel called for order in the courtroom.
Mukhtar Shariff has been in custody at the Sherburne County jail since June 3, 2024, when all of the defendants in his trial were detained after prosecutors alleged jury tampering. A woman dropped off a gift bag containing $120,000 in cash at a juror’s residence in exchange for acquittals, prosecutors said. The incident occurred just as jury deliberations were about to begin.
Federal prosecutors later charged three defendants from the trial and two accomplices for their alleged involvement in the bribe.
Mukhtar Shariff was not charged in the bribery case, but prosecutors allege in court documents that he knew about the bribe and deleted communications about it off of his cell phone.
Prosecutors say in court documents that he committed obstruction of justice when he deleted the Signal app from his phone after prosecutors announced in court that there was an alleged attempt to bribe a juror. The app was allegedly used by defendants in the bribery case to communicate about their plans.
Prosecutors also alleged that Mukhtar Shariff recorded testimony on his phone during the trial, which is against federal court rules.
Mukhtar Shariff apologized to Brasel Friday for recording testimony and for deleting content off of his cell phone.
“I know it was wrong, it was out of complete fear and panic in that moment,” he said of deleting the Signal app.
Brasel underscored the seriousness of those actions.
“That lack of respect for the law is like nothing I have ever seen,” she said.
Mukhtar Shariff is the second defendant to be sentenced in the case. Mohamed Jama Ismail, who was also a defendant in last year’s trial, was sentenced last October to 12 years in prison.
The next trial in the case is scheduled to start on February 3. Four defendants will stand trial, including Aimee Bock, the former executive director of Feeding Our Future.
Another defendant pleads guilty
Another defendant in the case pleaded guilty Friday for her involvement in the fraud.
Ayan Farah Abukar, 43, of Savage, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She will be sentenced at a later date.
According to court documents, she founded Action for East African People, a nonprofit she used to enroll multiple food sites.
She received about $5.7 million in federal funds and paid more than $330,000 in kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She spent millions on a commercial property in Lakeville and purchased an aircraft in Kenya, the release says.
In total, 70 people have been charged in the Feeding Our Future case for allegedly stealing at least $250 million in federal funds that were intended to feed children. In addition to the five defendants convicted at trial last year, 24 defendants have pleaded guilty. Most are awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors said the fraud started with the Minnesota Department of Education distributing federal money to Feeding Our Future and Partners in Quality Care. The two organizations distributed the money to food venders and sites that were supposed to feed children meals during the pandemic.
But prosecutors say some organizations reported serving more meals that they did in order to receive more federal money. Some never served any meals at all.
