A Minneapolis man has copped to scamming the federal government out of millions in a sickening scheme that turned the needs of children into his piggy bank. Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim, or Salah Donyale, 40, confessed to wire fraud in the devious plan that swindled $250 million meant to feed needy kids during the COVID-19 crisis, as stated in the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Omar-Hashim spun a web of lies, starting a sham company called Olive Management Inc. that claimed to dish out meals to thousands of non-existent children. Federal prosecutors stated that from September 2020 to September 2021, Omar-Hashim and his cronies cashed in on claims of dishing out over 1.6 million meals to purportedly hungry youths, but in a twisted truth, only about 20 of the 2,040 names listed could be traced back to real kids in the local school district. The fraudulent filings fattened their wallets by roughly $7,490,711, all in taxpayer dollars meant for feeding underprivileged children, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota.
Yesterday, before the gavel of U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel, Omar-Hashim, took responsibility, his guilty plea marking a sour close to his chapter in the disturbing exploitation of a federal child nutrition program; a sentencing hearing is pending, as disclosed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
