Is a Feeding Our Future fugitive returning from Somalia?

An obscure entry in the federal court calendar suggests “Yes”

A hearing has been scheduled at the federal courthouse in downtown St. Paul for Friday afternoon (Oct. 18) at 1:30 p.m.

The case is the USA vs. Ahmed, and involves Defendant No. 62 in the free-food scandal, Najmo Ahmed.

She and her husband, Said Ereg, ran Evergreen Grocery on Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis.

Both were indicted back in January of this year, and both were said to be fugitives from justice. Ahmed has apparently returned, hired a lawyer, and is due in court Friday to make her initial appearance in the case.

The two stand accused of taking more than $4 million from the free-food programs (p. 7). The indictment also mentions (p. 5, paragraph 17) that Ahmed worked directly for Feeding Our Future for a time.

Although the indictment didn’t come until 2024, Evergreen Grocery was flagged by the state Department of Education (MDE) from the very first day of the scandal:

The people behind six of those eight sites, including Evergreen, were later indicted in the case.

The Evergreen couple allegedly used the proceeds to purchase a home in New Hope (subject to forfeiture) and bought the usual luxury goods: Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Canada Goose.

They also sent millions of dollars abroad. From page 8 of the indictment:

Before Ahmed’s return, the couple was reportedly hiding out in Somalia. No word on a return date for Ahmed’s husband.

In related news, Aimee Bock, Defendant No. 1, was back in court today. She failed to disclose taking out a $186,000 line of credit to consolidate her student loans, as required by the terms of her pre-trial release. After an admonishment by the court, she was re-released without any new conditions.