Overview

• Abdullahe Nur Jesow, 65, pleaded guilty to money laundering in federal court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel, becoming the 56th defendant to plead guilty in the case.
• Jesow was charged in the S & S Catering group, which prosecutors say stole and laundered $17.4 million while running purported meal sites including on Lake Street in Minneapolis.
• He operated the Academy For Youth Excellence site out of Benadir Hall, where false claims included more than 1.7 million meals and led to $4,286,088 in federal payments.
• Jesow kept about 5% of those funds and returned most of it to co-conspirators in cash or checks to launder the proceeds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
• His trial had been set for October 14, and prosecutors say only one defendant now remains in that scheduled trial as the multiagency probe continues, with new charges in a related Housing Stabilization fraud scheme announced the same day.