Woman pleads guilty to role in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme after arrest before Dubai flight
A 50-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to her role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, according to court documents.
According to an agreement filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, Hibo Daar pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Daar in November 2020 applied to open a food distribution site in Minneapolis using Northside Wellness Center Corporation, a for-profit company in which she was executive director, in the Federal Children Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future, court documents said. The application was submitted together with the nonprofit's founder, Aimee Bock.
The site claimed to serve 52,000 meals in January 2021. Prosecutors say that by April of that same year, they claimed to serve 40,000 meals every week.
The business asked for over $2.4 million in reimbursement claims, according to court documents. A bank account that Daar controlled received more than $1.7 million from those claims.
Charges said Daar transferred "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to family, associates and herself. She also paid $72,000 in kickbacks from Northside Wellness to a Feeding Our Future employee to make sure the reimbursement claims were processed.
Federal agents took Daar into custody at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport before she could board a flight to Dubai in May 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
According to the plea agreement, Daar could pay up to $1,790,095 in restitution. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Her next hearing is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, according to court documents.
At least 45 defendants, including Daar, have pleaded guilty or been convicted in the Justice Department's Feeding Our Future investigation.
Bock, who was convicted for her role in the scheme in March, has since filed motions requesting acquittal.
The scheme diverted $250 million in federal funds during a time when the rules were relaxed in order to keep the U.S. economy running.
Note: The above video first aired on May 27, 2025.