Feeding Our Future launderer gets 6 months, tied to Rosemount home
Federal prosecutors say 50‑year‑old Zamzam Jama of Rochester has been sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay more than $491,000 in restitution for laundering money in the $300 million Feeding Our Future fraud — money that helped buy a home in Rosemount and a 2021 Toyota RAV4. Jama admitted in a February 5, 2025 guilty plea that she funneled at least $491,245 in misappropriated federal child‑nutrition funds through a shell company and spent the cash on personal expenses unrelated to feeding children. The Fox 9 report details how the Jamas enrolled Brava Restaurant in Rochester as a Feeding Our Future distribution site in October 2020 and set up six shell entities to move federal money, with co‑defendants using the proceeds to buy additional homes in Lakeville and Rochester, property in Turkey, and a house in Columbus, Ohio. As part of their own guilty pleas, Asha and Mustafa Jama have forfeited properties and funds, but the story makes clear that some of the stolen cash is now embedded in Twin Cities‑area real estate that never should have been bought in the first place. Sentenced this week, Zamzam Jama must surrender to the U.S. Marshals by June 2 to begin serving her term, while Minnesotans are still waiting to see how many more defendants will be held to account and how much of the money will actually be clawed back.
📌 Key Facts
- Defendant Zamzam Jama, 50, was sentenced to six months in federal prison and more than $491,000 in restitution for money laundering tied to Feeding Our Future.
- Jama admitted depositing at least $491,245 in misappropriated federal child‑nutrition funds into a shell company account and spending the money on a Rosemount home and a 2021 Toyota RAV4.
- The Jamas and associates enrolled Brava Restaurant in Rochester as a Feeding Our Future site in October 2020 and registered six shell companies, using proceeds to buy homes in Lakeville, Rochester, Columbus, Ohio, and property in Turkey; co‑defendants Asha and Mustafa Jama have forfeited property and funds under their own guilty pleas.
- Jama has been ordered to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service by June 2 to begin serving her sentence.
📊 Relevant Data
In the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, approximately 91% (40 out of 44) of the listed convicted defendants have names suggesting Somali origin, while Somalis constitute about 1.4% of Minnesota's population of 5,793,151, with an estimated Somali population of 79,449.
Here’s a list of everyone who has been convicted in the Feeding Our Future case — Hiiraan Online
The poverty rate among Somalis in Minnesota is 36.4%, compared to the statewide poverty rate of 9.3%.
Somali population - Cultural communities — Minnesota Compass
Among Somalis aged 25 and older in Minnesota, 40.6% have less than a high school education, compared to the statewide rate where only 6.1% of adults aged 25 and older lack a high school diploma (93.9% have high school or higher).
Somali population - Cultural communities — Minnesota Compass
The majority of Somalis in Minnesota arrived as refugees fleeing the Somali Civil War starting in the 1990s, with resettlement facilitated by U.S. programs under the Refugee Act of 1980 and voluntary agencies such as Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities, leading to chain migration and concentration in Minnesota due to family networks and generous welfare benefits.
Somali and Somali American Experiences in Minnesota — MNopedia
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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