Burnsville woman charged with defrauding child nutrition program out of nearly $1 million in Feeding Our Future case

A Burnsville woman faces numerous federal charges that she defrauded a U.S. child nutrition program by falsely claiming to serve hundreds of thousands of kids and claiming she was owed $1 million in reimbursements — marking the 75th indictment in the sprawling Feeding Our Future case.

Muna Wais Fidhin, 44, faces 10 counts including wire fraud, federal programs bribery and money laundering after federal prosecutors say she used the fraudulently obtained funds meant for hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic to pay her home mortgage, buy a car and make lavish lifestyle purchases.

According to the indictment, Fidhin enrolled her company, M5 Café, under the sponsorship of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future — the agency at the center of the mammoth $250 million fraud case. Fidhin later enrolled another nonprofit, M5 Care, in the same program under another sponsor. She is now the 75th person charged in the investigation.

Fidhin, who has been taken into custody, did not have an attorney listed as of Thursday afternoon.

The indictment alleges Fidhin claimed to be owed about $1 million from the child nutrition program by stating she served more than 300,000 meals between her two food sites that she enrolled in 2020 and 2021.

“In reality, Ridhin served few, if any, children at her sites,” according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota news release.

To carry out her scheme, Fidhin submitted invoices falsely documenting the purchase of food meant to feed the children, according to prosecutors.

“With the 75th defendant charged in the Feeding Our Future scandal, the message could not be clearer,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson. “Feeding Our Future is only one of the many frauds against the state we are pursuing. If you touched these frauds in any way, pick up the phone and call the FBI today. You will still be held accountable, but it will be far better for you than if you wait until we come knocking.”