Ilhan Omar’s Sister Linked Through Shared Address to Key Figures in Minnesota’s $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud

A new examination of business records has connected Sahra Noor, the sister of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, to an address used by individuals closely associated with central players in Minnesota’s sprawling Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, the largest public theft in state history that siphoned more than $250 million in federal child nutrition funds. The revelations have intensified scrutiny of potential ties surrounding the scandal, even as Democrats on a state legislative committee previously blocked a Republican effort to subpoena records from the congresswoman herself.

Noor incorporated her firm, Grit Partners Consulting, in late 2022 at a residential address on Hyacinth Avenue in Lakeville, Minnesota. That same property was occupied by Mashah Ahmed Ali and his wife, Ister Ahmed Afraa. Public records show Afraa maintained business connections with several people later convicted in the Feeding Our Future case. Among them was Hanna Marekegn, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud for stealing approximately $7 million and used proceeds to purchase a multimillion-dollar mansion. Afraa also shared corporate ties with Sahra Nur, a separate individual sentenced to prison for her role in the scheme, including operating a catering company that submitted millions of dollars in false claims for meals that were never provided.

Feeding Our Future operated as a nonprofit sponsor that facilitated reimbursements for organizations claiming to serve meals to children during the pandemic. Investigators later determined that numerous entities submitted fabricated invoices and attendance records, allowing participants to divert enormous sums. Convicted ringleader Aimee Bock received a 41-year sentence. Sahra Nur’s Minneapolis home address appeared on paperwork for at least 17 companies that billed government programs or moved funds, including entities that collectively claimed millions in illegitimate reimbursements. Luxury real estate purchases and shell companies featured prominently in the laundering of proceeds.

No evidence has publicly established that Sahra Noor herself participated in the fraudulent meal claims or received stolen funds. Her consulting firm has described securing more than $20 million in funding for health initiatives and working on projects involving federal agencies. Earlier in her career, Noor led People’s Center Clinics & Services in Minneapolis, which received a $2 million state earmark while her sister served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. When contacted about the shared address, residents of the Hyacinth Avenue property denied knowledge of the various companies registered there, with one describing the situation as a possible scam.

The address overlap has nevertheless drawn attention because of the density of connections among the fraud defendants and the proximity to Omar’s family. In May, the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee considered a Republican motion to subpoena documents from Rep. Omar related to communications or connections involving Feeding Our Future defendants. The motion failed on a party-line vote. All five Republicans supported issuing the subpoena; the three Democrats present opposed it, falling short of the six votes required under the chamber’s power-sharing agreement. Committee Republicans subsequently sought assistance from congressional oversight bodies to obtain the records.

Omar has not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the scandal, and no public evidence has directly implicated her in the fraud. The Feeding Our Future case has already produced dozens of indictments and lengthy prison sentences, exposing systemic failures in oversight of pandemic-era federal nutrition programs. The newly reported address links involving her sister have added another layer of questions about the social and business networks that surrounded the scheme, even as legislative efforts to compel further disclosure from the congresswoman remain stalled along partisan lines.