Minnesota DFL state Senator John Hoffman accepted $3,000 in campaign contributions from convicted Feeding Our Future fraudster Mekfira Hussein and members of her family. Campaign finance records revealed that Hussein and her relatives made the donations on the same day in December 2021. Hoffman returned the money after Hussein was charged in the sprawling federal investigation the following year. She has since pleaded guilty and been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison.
The donations surfaced shortly after federal prosecutors announced charges against dozens of people accused of exploiting a taxpayer-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hussein was initially identified as the 48th defendant in the investigation, which prosecutors described as a $250 million fraud scheme. She operated Shamsia Hopes, one of more than 250 meal sites sponsored by the now-defunct Feeding Our Future organization.
Hoffman, a Democrat from Champlin, said he learned about the contributions on the night of September 20th, 2022, shortly after then-U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced the first wave of charges. Hoffman said he began determining how to return the money the following morning and wrote a check covering all $3,000 that afternoon. He directed the funds to federal authorities so they could be handled as part of the government’s case.
As Alpha News reported, Hoffman called the accusations against Hussein “shocking and indefensible.” He said anyone who stole money intended to provide meals to children “must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” At least five other Democratic officeholders had also accepted campaign contributions from individuals charged in the Feeding Our Future investigation.
Federal investigators accused Hussein of using Shamsia Hopes to submit inflated meal counts and collect millions of dollars from the Federal Child Nutrition Program. During several months in 2020 and 2021, the organization claimed it was serving either 5,000 or 10,000 children every day of the week. Hussein claimed that Shamsia Hopes served more than 3.4 million meals, although authorities said only a small fraction of the federal money received was spent on food.
Investigators said Hussein used money from the program for personal expenses benefiting herself and her family. The purchases allegedly included a $93,000 Porsche Cayenne bought with a Shamsia Hopes check, along with payments on a Tesla Model 3. Authorities also said at least $4 million was transferred to Oromia Feeds LLC, a purported food vendor registered to Hussein’s husband, Abduljabar Hussein.
The address registered to Oromia Feeds was the same as the couple’s home address, according to the federal affidavit. Investigators said the vendor transferred at least $1 million to Abduljabar Hussein’s account and made substantial payments to several vehicle dealerships and the couple’s mortgage company. Hussein was also accused of paying more than $80,000 in kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employee Abdikerm Eidleh.
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Hussein purchased a one-way ticket to Ethiopia as federal authorities prepared to announce the initial Feeding Our Future charges in September 2022. She was arrested before the planned flight and later released under conditions that required her to surrender her passport. A subsequent Justice Department indictment charged Hussein and her husband with conspiracy, wire fraud, federal-program bribery, and money laundering offenses.
Hussein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on January 31st, 2025. U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced her to 57 months in prison on September 8th, 2026, while her husband received 40 months after entering his own guilty plea. U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said, “The Husseins stole money that was meant for vulnerable children.”
Featured image: User:Homey0117, CC BY-SA 3.0