A former top aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is going to federal prison. Abdi Nur Salah was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison this week for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, after pleading guilty to defrauding $1.6 million in federal child nutrition funds.
Prosecutors said he helped connect fraudulent meal operations to nonprofits and laundered proceeds from a scheme that stole money meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also ordered to pay $1,063,255 in restitution.
Salah had served as a senior policy aide to Mayor Frey until his name surfaced in the investigation in early 2022. The broader case remains one of the largest pandemic-era frauds in U.S. history, with federal prosecutors alleging between $250 million and $300 million in federal funds was fraudulently obtained through phony meal sites.
Salah is the 31st defendant sentenced, out of 81 defendants charged and 69 convictions secured so far. His tie to the mayor's office is drawing fresh scrutiny over how the scheme grew so large under the watch of Minnesota's political establishment.
What to watch next: more sentencings in the coming months — and whether the political fallout touches any sitting officeholders.