Fahima Egeh Mahamud, 50, owner and CEO of Future Leaders Early Learning Center in Minneapolis, now faces federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges tied to approximately $4.6 million in taxpayer funds misappropriated through false claims to Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) between October 2022 and December 2025.
Prosecutors allege Mahamud submitted over 13,000 fraudulent CCAP claims during this period, pocketing the money while falsely certifying that mandatory family co-payments were collected when they were not. This new charge builds on earlier federal indictments in the larger Feeding Our Future child nutrition fraud case, where Mahamud’s center allegedly received over $850,000 from a federal meal-service program by inflating served meals.
The alleged fraud totals more than $5.4 million when combined with the CCAP and nutrition program violations. State records show Future Leaders Early Learning Center closed in January 2025 following state inspections and mounting scrutiny. Federal prosecutors also charged another daycare owner and two individuals linked to housing-stabilization fraud in related Minnesota investigations.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen convened in Minneapolis shortly after Mahamud’s latest charges were filed, signaling intensified federal enforcement in the state. The Justice Department has executed over 20 search warrants in Minnesota fraud cases within a single week as part of President Trump and Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
