Several NFL players are raising money for an Islamic charity whose leadership has documented ties to figures involved in Minnesota's "Feeding Our Future" fraud.
The alleged scheme was tied to more than $250 million in fraud that exploited a federal child nutrition program.
The Human Development Fund, an Islamic charity founded in 2023, says it provides meals to orphans in Gaza.
But a Washington Free Beacon investigation found that HDF leaders have past connections to Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit whose executives and partners were convicted or charged in one of the largest fraud cases in Minnesota history.
Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, an NFL "Man of the Year " nominee, is fundraising for HDF, along with Baltimore Ravens safety Sanoussi Kane and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Josh Palmer.
HDF founder and Chief Executive Abdirahman Kariye is an imam at Dar Al-Farooq, a mosque near Minneapolis that served as a food distribution site for Feeding Our Future.
HDF's director of fundraising events, Khalid Omar, is also a director at Dar Al-Farooq.
In June 2021, during the height of the fraud, Kariye and Omar appeared at an award ceremony honoring Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock for her "outstanding leadership to the Minnesota communities."
Omar emceed the event and praised the program, while Kariye criticized the Minnesota Department of Education for hindering food distribution, according to a video later reported by the Center of the American Experiment.
Founded in 2023, HDF raised $33 million in its first full year, according to tax filings. The charity is now receiving additional exposure through the NFL's My Cause My Cleats program.
HDF has also partnered with Muslim influencer Sami Hamdi and activist Shaun King. Hamdi previously said he felt "euphoria" after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, while King has referred to Hamas as "heroes."
Kariye hosted two fundraisers in December 2024 with Hamdi and King that charged $15 per ticket.
Dar Al-Farooq became publicly linked to the Feeding Our Future case after Mukhtar Shariff, who oversaw the mosque's food site, was indicted in 2022.
Shariff laundered $40 million through a shell company, Afrique Hospitality, which prosecutors said was used to carry out the fraud. The Free Beacon reported that Afrique Hospitality shared an address with a company HDF listed as its Minnesota office.
Kariye and Omar testified as witnesses at Shariff's 2024 trial. Prosecutors said Kariye falsely testified about daily food distribution levels. Shariff was convicted and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
At the same trial, Bloomington public school official Dinna Ward-Ardley testified that Omar pressured her to approve inflated meal counts. "I felt taken advantage of," Ward-Ardley said.
Kariye, Omar, Dar Al-Farooq, and HDF have not been charged with wrongdoing. None responded to requests for comment. The NFL also did not respond.
The scandal has had political repercussions in Minnesota. Attorney General Keith Ellison, who met with Feeding Our Future leaders during the period under investigation, was recorded telling community members he was "here to help," according to the Free Beacon.
Federal prosecutors secured a guilty verdict in December 2025 against Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock on all counts tied to the $250 million fraud case. Sentencing in the case is pending.
Dozens of other defendants have been charged or convicted, and investigators say additional charges are likely.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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