A Minneapolis woman pleaded guilty on Friday to wire fraud for her role in the Feeding Our Future scheme, and admitted to running a business that stole millions from the government by falsely inflating the number of meals it claimed to serve to children.

Khadra Abdi, 42, admitted in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis that she stole more than $3.4 million in fraud money from the federal government as part of the Feeding Our Future scheme between 2020 and 2022. As part of her plea agreement, Abdi’s other charges related to wire fraud and money laundering will be dismissed at sentencing.

Abdi operated a Hopkins-based business called Shafi’s Tutoring and Homework Help Center, which was created prior to the pandemic and the Feeding Our Future scheme. In April 2020 Abdi signed a contract with Aimee Bock, the executive director of Feeding Our Future, for Shafi’s Tutoring to serve as a site to feed low-income children under the Federal Child Nutrition Program.

The tutoring business claimed to have served 1.1 million meals to children, federal charges say. Instead, only a “small fraction” of those reported meals were served, and the business falsely-inflated its meal number reports, prosecutors said.

Abdi gave some of the $3.4 million in fraud money to other members of the scheme, and used at least $202,000 to pay herself, charges say. Some of the funds allegedly went to personal spending for credit card and loan payments, cable TV, clothing and nail salon services.

Abdi admitted that she purchased two vehicles partially with fraud money. She agreed to forfeit properties and vehicles she bought with fraud money, and she is required to pay back the $3.4 million she received as restitution.

Asked by U.S. Assistant Attorney Matthew Ebert if her co-defendant Abdulkadir Awale operated as a fraudulent food vendor who did not provide food to Shafi’s Tutoring as reported on invoices, Abdi initially pushed back.

“Food was served at the site,” Abdi said through a Somali interpreter. “I cannot speak to the invoices.”

“That’s what we strive for — zero events,” Elmi said.

This is the second year members of SYL have patrolled city streets in areas where Somali kids tend to congregate, making sure they stay out of trouble. After a promising showing in 2023 as a privately funded pilot project, the program received a $300,000 contract with the city earlier this year to expand its services.

The group was formed after a series of events in recent summers involving Somali youth, ranging from loitering, reckless driving, shooting fireworks at people or sneaking into college parties.

The blue shirts of SYL have since become a staple in those target areas — surrounding Minneapolis’ Stone Arch Bridge, Boom Island Park and Dinkytown — and the program has continued to receive positive feedback.

“[Business owners] have said, ‘Yes, we’ve seen them walking the streets and it has been a big help; we like that visibility,’” said Nick Juarez, the community engagement liaison for the University of Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety. “Now they know, if they’re going to come down to Dinkytown, they know they’re going to run into the elders from Somali Youth Link.”

The issues with Somali youth began occurring around the time of the pandemic, when schools were closed, social services were shut off and children in general lacked a normal daily structure, said Farhio Khalif, a director of Somali Youth Link and community advocate.