Which specific convictions in the Minnesota fraud cases included prison sentences and what were the terms?

1. Landmark 28‑year federal term: the Feeding Our Future leader

Federal prosecutors publicized a “landmark” decision in the Feeding Our Future prosecutions in which the scheme’s identified leader received a 28‑year prison sentence, a term described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as one of the largest penalties in the sprawling pandemic‑era fraud litigation ^[1]. Reporting links that August 6, 2025 sentence explicitly to the Feeding Our Future conspiracy and positions it as a pivotal punishment in a case that prosecutors say involved hundreds of millions of dollars in false claims ^{[1] [5]}.

2. Ten years and huge restitution: the 24‑year‑old co‑defendant

A separate, widely reported sentence handed down in November 2025 sent a 24‑year‑old defendant, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, to 120 months (10 years) in prison followed by three years of supervised release; court filings and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Nur was central to creating fraudulent meal counts and invoices tied to the Feeding Our Future network ^[2]. Multiple outlets and official statements connect that 10‑year term with very large restitution orders — described in reporting as “nearly $48 million” to “nearly $50 million” — reflecting prosecutors’ characterization of the scale of false claims for nonexistent meals ^{[6] [7] [2]}.

3. Three years for a separate bank‑fraud architect

Outside the pandemic meal program prosecutions, the District of Minnesota announced the sentencing of Matthew Thomas Onofrio to 36 months (three years) in federal prison for running a large bank‑fraud scheme; Judge Susan Richard Nelson followed that term with two years of supervised release and an order of $5,398,641 in restitution as part of the judgment ^[3]. The Department of Justice framed Onofrio as the “ringleader and architect” of the bank fraud, distinguishing his conduct from the social‑services billing schemes while noting substantial investor losses ^[3].

4. Broad conviction counts, varied sentences, and unresolved details

Aggregating coverage shows dozens of federal defendants charged and many convicted: a Wikipedia overview and multiple outlets state that roughly 98 people have been charged across linked Minnesota fraud probes with roughly 62 convictions overall as of January 2026, and that the Feeding Our Future prosecutions alone produced dozens of indictments and more than 50 convictions in successive waves ^{[4] [6]}. Reporting makes clear that sentencing outcomes vary widely — from multi‑decade exposure for some defendants (reported as potential or actual long terms) to multi‑year prison terms and restitution orders — but comprehensive, case‑by‑case sentence lists are not consolidated in the available sources ^{[8] [6] [4]}.

5. Caveats, political context and open questions

Media and government releases emphasize large dollar figures and prominent prison terms while also noting political fallout and demographic patterns in the charged population; sources report that a high share of defendants are Somali‑American and that the cases have provoked national scrutiny and policy responses, but the available material does not provide a full public ledger of every conviction’s sentence with consistent restitution totals, so some granular sentencing data remain to be corroborated from court records ^{[4] [5] [6]}. Where outlets quote potential maximum penalties (for example, defendants facing decades at trial) those numbers sometimes reflect statutory exposure rather than final adjudicated terms, and several high‑profile convictions remain subject to appeals or additional pending counts ^{[8] [7]}.