A Golden Valley man has pleaded guilty to bilking the federal government of $1.6 million by fraudulently claiming the nonprofit he acquired fed thousands of needy children daily at sites throughout Minnesota as part of the sweeping Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
Ahmed Mohamed Artan, 40, entered an agreement to plead guilty to wire fraud Thursday for his role in the sprawling scheme that defrauded $250 million from a federal child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. He initially filed a notice to plead guilty in March 2024 but withdrew the request the next day and asked for new attorneys.
Artan took over the nonprofit Stigma-Free International in October 2020 and carried out the scheme shortly after the Minnesota Department of Education stopped approving food sites run by restaurants and other for-profit companies. The nonprofit was incorporated by four people in 2019, including City Council Member Jamal Osman, who turned over the entity to a former senior aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Days after the nonprofit came under Artan’s leadership, he quickly began setting up food sites with Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship.
According to court documents, Artan and his co-conspirators opened meal sites across Minnesota, including in Willmar, Mankato, St. Cloud, Waite Park and St. Paul. From November 2020 to November 2021, Artan and his peers claimed to have served nearly 5 million meals to children.
Federal prosecutors said Artan and his underlings further claimed to serve additional meals through shell companies. Altogether, the group claimed to serve tens of thousands of children daily throughout Minnesota, receiving millions of federal dollars in return. Artan cost the federal child nutrition program more than $1.6 million in funds from fraudulent reimbursement claims, prosecutors said.
According to court filings, Artan and the cohort used the funds for fraudulent purposes, including creating another shell company, Five A’s Projects LLC, and purchasing the former location of bar and restaurant Kelly’s 19th Hole in Brooklyn Park, which will be forfeited to the United States.
Artan’s sentencing has not yet been scheduled. His guilty plea marks the 46th conviction in the fraud cause that’s so far seen 72 defendants.
