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Nonprofit Tied to Meal Fraud Claims Agrees to Pay Minnesota $18.5M
The nonprofit will return remaining assets and cooperate with investigators after state officials alleged it billed for millions of meals never served.
On Thursday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced an $18.5 million settlement with Partners in Nutrition, a nonprofit accused of defrauding federal child nutrition programs; the organization will dissolve and pay its remaining assets.
The lawsuit alleges Partners in Nutrition knowingly submitted false claims between October 2020 and February 2022, facilitating widespread fraud by inflating reimbursement requests for meals never actually served to children.
Documents cited in the complaint show the nonprofit ignored "obvious signs of fraud," including one Minneapolis site receiving $895,241 for meals despite being "not yet operating," according to the Attorney General's Office.
Although the settlement resolves civil claims, Ellison is recommending criminal charges against at least one unnamed insider, while continuing investigations into six other individuals affiliated with PIN.
This agreement comes amid ongoing scrutiny of pandemic-era meal programs, as Ellison faces reelection pressure six weeks away following investigations into the Feeding Our Future scheme and related fraud cases.