A 34-year-old man pleaded guilty on Monday for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

Asad Abshir pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. He is the 48th defendant to be convicted in what prosecutors have called the largest pandemic fraud case in the country.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Asad Abshir and his brother Abdinasir Abshir helped work for the nonprofit Stigma Free International, which claimed to operate a food distribution site in Mankato. 

The DOJ says the Abshirs did not provide the 1.6 million meals for children that they claimed to.

Abdinasir Abshir received $750,000 in funds and the DOJ says it has seized $424,000 from the bank account of his shell company, Santana LLC.

"This guilty plea is another step in exposing the staggering levels of fraud that have been hiding in plain sight across Minnesota," said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. "This defendant laundered money meant to feed children and funneled it into a web of shell companies and luxury spending."

Abdinasir Abshir was the 37th Feeding Our Future defendant to plead guilty. 

Aimee Bock, the ring leader of the $250 million fraud case, was found guilty in March of multiple criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. 

• Fraud