)
or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Date: Oct. 1, 2026
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Minneapolis – United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced that Abdi Nur Salah, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in the $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Salah was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel on Oct. 1, 2026.
Salah was originally charged by indictment on Sept.13, 2022, and he pleaded guilty on Jan. 28, 2025. Salah is the 31st defendant sentenced in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
According to court documents, Salah and his co-conspirators operated a non-profit Federal Child Nutrition Program meal site called Stigma-Free International, which was sponsored by Feeding Our Future. In October 2020, shortly after the Minnesota Department of Education announced it was no longer approving food sites run by restaurants and other for-profit companies, Salah acquired a non-profit entity, Stigma-Free International, to carry out the fraudulent scheme against the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
Salah transferred ownership of Stigma-Free International to his co-conspirators who used it to open a number of new Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout Minnesota, including in Willmar, Mankato, St. Cloud, Waite Park, and St. Paul.
For 12 months from November 2020 to November 2021, Salah’s co-conspirators fraudulently claimed to have served nearly five million meals to children at the Stigma-Free International sites, including by submitting fraudulent attendance rosters and invoices. Based on the fraudulent claims, Feeding Our Future paid out over $10 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program reimbursements to the Stigma-Free International sites.
Salah additionally created and used multiple shell companies to receive and launder his share of the fraud proceeds. The defendant then used the funds for self-enrichment including purchasing homes, real estate, and businesses. In all, Salah received approximately $1,660,000 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
“This defendant decided to steal funds meant for vulnerable children. Today’s sentence represents my office’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who defraud the American taxpayers,” said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.
“Abdi Nur Salah knew what that money was for. It was meant to feed children, and he helped turn it into his payday,” said Robert J. Kuszynski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Chicago Field Office. “Families counted on that program during a hard time, while he helped take from it. You can dress a scheme up as a nonprofit, but you can’t make the money trail disappear. Our special agents followed it, and today Salah answers for where it led.”
“Abdi Nur Salah and his co-conspirators used taxpayer money meant to support hungry children to buy themselves a life of luxury,” said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Benni Jonsson. “In defrauding the Federal Child Nutrition Program of more than $1.6 million, what this defendant bought himself is a federal prison sentence. We will continue to bring fraudsters to justice and defend the American taxpayer.”
“Mr. Salah's sentence reflects the determination of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and our law enforcement partners to hold every single defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme accountable for their crimes,” said Bryan Musgrove, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Denver Division.
The case is the result of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy, and Austin L. Bowyer prosecuted the case. Assistant United States Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.
IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.