Sharmarke Issa

Sharmarke Issa

Sharmarke Issa was board chair of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority until he stepped down in 2022.

Sharmarke Issa was charged with his involvement in Feeding Our Future, an elaborate scheme to defraud Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic using funds designated for the Federal Child Nutrition Program.

Aimee Bock was the founder of Feeding Our Future.,

Charges

Excerpt from the Department of Justice press release titled "U.S. Attorney Announces Federal Charges Against 47 Defendants in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme" dated September 20, 2022:

Sharmarke Issa, 40, of Edina, Minnesota, is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Sharmarke Issa created a company called "Minnesota’s Somali Community" and was the manager of Wacan Restaurant LLC. Sharmarke Issa fraudulently caused MDE to pay out more than $7.4 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.

Summary

From the local Fox affiliate:

Prosecutors said Bock was the ringleader in the massive fraud scheme that bilked $250 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the scheme, Feeding Our Future enlisted food vendors and restaurants which claimed to serve thousands of meals to children during the pandemic. But, authorities say those vendors either lied or inflated the number of meals they served and pocketed the excess funds.

Since the fraud was exposed in 2023, 70 people have been charged in the case. Thirty-seven defendants have pleaded guilty. Five were convicted at trial last year and and now Bock and Said have been convicted.

Minneapolis Public Housing Authority

From Joey Peters of the local Sahan Journal titled "Sharmarke Issa resigns as board chair of Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. Federal officials allege money used to buy an apartment complex he co-owns came from food aid program." dated February 23, 2022:

"The board chair of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, who is co-owner of an apartment complex that the federal government alleges was bought with money meant to feed children, resigned from his city position last week, citing “personal matters.”

Sharmarke Issa, who has served as chair of the housing authority board since 2019, co-owns a four-unit apartment complex in south Minneapolis with Abdi Salah, a former senior policy aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, according to Hennepin County property records. Abdi Salah left his role at the mayor’s office on February 17 [2022] following a call from Sahan Journal about his connection to the fraud investigation.

Frey appointed Sharmarke to chair the board of the housing authority in 2019 and again in 2021. This made Sharmarke the first Somali to chair the largest public housing authority in the state.

Feeding Our Future Masterminds Convicted

Screenshot of indictment 'United States v. Aimee Marie Bock, et al'

It was reported on March 19, 2025 that Aimee Marie Bock and her co-defendant Salim Ahmed Said "were convicted on all counts for their roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud case."

"The jury found Aimee Bock guilty on all seven counts she faced, including charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and federal programs bribery.

Said was found guilty on all 21 counts he faced, including counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal programs bribery, and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, along with four additional counts of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.