The fraud now has produced a total of 70 indictments and brought about new government controls around grant dollars.

One defendant has been sentenced and another has pleaded guilty in the massive COVID-19-related Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

The second defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme was sentenced Friday to 17.5 years in prison and will pay almost $48 million in restitution. Another woman involved in the scheme also pleaded guilty Friday.

Minneapolis, MN ( KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota man accused of being a major player in the " Feeding Our Future " fraud scandal has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison. The Office of the US Attorney For Minnesota says 34-year-old Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff of Bloomington has also been ordered to pay nearly $48 million in restitution.

Mukhtar Shariff used shell companies to help siphon more than $47 million in federal pandemic aid money intended for hungry kids.

Feeding Our Future defendant Mukhtar Shariff was sentenced Friday to 17-and-a-half years in prison for stealing more than $1.3 million in federal funds.

MINNEAPOLIS (CBS)— A 34-year-old Bloomington man convicted in the Feeding our Future COVID relief fraud case will spend over 17 years in prison, and a woman pleaded guilty Friday for her role in the scheme.

A defendant in the Feeding Our Future scheme was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison on Friday for his role in defrauding the federal government out of $47 million meant for feeding children in need during the pandemic.