MINNEAPOLIS — A Shakopee man, convicted of playing a key role in the Feeding Our Future pandemic fraud scheme, is being told he has to pay back nearly $48 million.

Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, 24, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Prosecutors say the scheme started with Nur's business, Empire Cuisine & Market, in Shakopee, in the early days of the pandemic. When Empire Cuisine enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program, he and others immediately opened fake meal sites. He claimed to serve 18 million meals to kids at more than 30 food distribution sites, but the rosters were filled with the names of fake children. Prosecutors say Nur and his co-conspirators stole more than $47 million in program funds.

"Using the taxpayer

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