The former leader of a St. Paul nonprofit pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud in the Feeding Our Future case, which exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sharon Ross, 53, of Big Lake, is the 17th defendant to plead guilty to federal charges relating to the fraud scheme since the FBI raided Feeding Our Future’s St. Anthony offices early in 2022. Her case was scheduled to go to trial this month.

Other charges against Ross were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Ross was one of 60 Minnesotans charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programs during the pandemic, when regulations temporarily were loosened and a variety of businesses and nonprofits were allowed to help feed hungry kids while schools were closed. Federal prosecutors have called the the scheme the nation’s largest coronavirus pandemic fraud, amounting to more than $250 million.

According to court documents, Ross, while serving as the executive director of House of Refuge Twin Cities, claimed the nonprofit operated a dozen distribution sites that served food by her vendor Brava Café, a restaurant in Minneapolis run by Hanna Marekegn.

Between September 2021 and February 2022, Ross falsely claimed to be serving thousands of children each day. In total, she claimed to have served nearly 900,000 meals and received $2.4 million in fraudulent reimbursements.

Ross doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to family members and used the rest of the money to fund her lifestyle, including to pay for vacations to Florida and Las Vegas, a suite at a Timberwolves game and to purchase a house in Willernie.

In October 2022, Marekegn was among the first three defendants who pleaded guilty in the scheme, all also admitting to wire fraud.

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