Mahamoud Warsame is the 80th person charged in the food fraud case.

The newest defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal pleaded guilty to his role in the massive scheme just over a week after his charge was filed.

Mahamoud Warsame, 41, admitted in federal court in Minneapolis on Thursday that he purchased property and vehicles using illicit proceeds from false or inflated reimbursement claims purporting to serve meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors agreed not to investigate Warsame’s wife. Warsame in court admitted that he used his wife’s signature on fraudulent forms even though she did not want to participate in the Feeding Our Future scheme — named for the nonprofit at the center of the plot.

Joe Dixon, Warsame’s attorney, said his client learned about the federal investigation into his role in April when he was served grand jury subpoenas. Warsame decided to engage and “take accountability” early on.

Warsame admitted he falsely claimed his food vendor company, Metro Area Catering, served 1.6 million meals at various sites in Minnesota from February 2021 through January 2022, including for his Minneapolis-based nonprofit Southside Youth LLC. As a result, his company received more than $4 million in food expenses that he mostly steered toward personal purchases.

To support the fake claims, Warsame submitted fake meal counts and rosters of children’s names who purportedly received food at Southside Youth...

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