INVESTIGATION: MPS finance chief who signed contracts with questionable transportation companies placed on leave
Alpha News has reported extensively on Ibrahima Diop and questionable contracts with Frontier Transportation Services.
Ibrahima Diop, the finance boss at Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), has been placed on administrative leave, Alpha News has learned.
Alpha News has reported extensively on Diop and questionable contracts with Frontier Transportation Services, hired by MPS to transport Homeless and Highly Mobile (HHM) students in passenger vans.
Additionally, another transportation company under contract with the district was filmed dropping off children at the now-closed Quality “Learing” Center — a moment many observers believe was staged to make the site appear active.
MEISA Transportation Services vans were recorded outside the Minneapolis daycare made famous in a viral Nick Shirley video for misspelling the word “learning.”
An article from transportation consultant Rob Carpenter first raised questions about MEISA, noting its apparent connections to Abedelhalim Lawabni and Nohad Loabneh.
In 2020, two individuals with those same names were charged in Arizona with submitting $2.75 million in fake medical trip invoices through A&N Services. Prosecutors alleged more than 9,000 non-emergency medical transportation rides never occurred. Court records show the case was dismissed without prejudice in September 2020 at the request of prosecutors.
The indictment in that case says the two are brothers, reside in Fountain Hills, Ariz., and “are both listed as managers with a business address showing 8441 Wayzata Blvd, Suite 125, Golden Valley, Minnesota, 55426.”
That address is linked to MEISA Transportation Services on government records. A Secretary of State filing from the company’s 2009 incorporation lists a Nohad Loabneh as an organizer. Additionally, a Nohad Loabneh is listed as the manager of a separate entity known as MEISA Integrated Services, which lists a Fountain Hills address as its mailing address. Heslon Kagaruki is listed as the manager on Secretary of State records for MEISA Transportation.
Furthermore, records from an Arizona civil case state that “brothers Abed and Ned (Nohad) have operated several businesses in Minnesota and Arizona” over the past 30 years, and that MEISA Transportation is “another non-emergency medical transportation business owned and operated by Ned and Abed.”
That case involved a dispute between a subcontractor and A&N Services, operated by Loabneh and Lawabni. In 2020, the Arizona Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision against A&N Services, “finding clear and convincing evidence of bad faith and fraud.”
“The manner in which A&N kept their books was misleading and purposefully opaque. Subcontractors were not always paid for rides and did not have a method of knowing, at least before 2015 or 2016, which rides had been approved and paid. Subcontractors had to rely on A&N’s accounting, regarding both earnings and deductions, which was later determined to be false. To further complicate matters, A&N’s data disappeared after each billing period,” the ruling states.
Alpha News attempted to contact MEISA Transportation. An email to the company bounced back because the address couldn’t be found. Alpha News called the company’s listed number but the line rang repeatedly, never went to voicemail, and then disconnected.
Nevertheless, MEISA Transportation Services has held a lucrative contract with Minneapolis Public Schools for years, transporting HHM students in passenger vans to and from school.
According to records, Diop signed off on MEISA contract increases of $1 million, $1.5 million, and $500,000 in recent years. Contract agreements also require school board approval.
When Alpha News asked the district to confirm Diop’s status and whether his leave relates in any way to transportation vendors or contracting decisions, MPS replied: “Due to data privacy laws, Minneapolis Public Schools cannot comment at this time.” Past inquiries to Diop have gone unanswered.
Diop lands new job in Wisconsin … and then doesn’t
Local media in Milwaukee recently reported that Milwaukee Public Schools hired Diop as its new deputy superintendent at a salary of $240,000 a year.
TMJ4 reports that Diop was hired on Dec. 18, before he was placed on administrative leave in Minneapolis for allegedly failing “to submit necessary financial paperwork to the state as the district faces a $25 million budget shortfall.”
However, once it was publicly revealed that Diop was placed on leave in Minneapolis, Milwaukee Public Schools said he would not be joining the district, citing “new information,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Diop signs off on multi-million dollar contracts
Alpha News previously reported on Diop and the district’s contract with Frontier Transportation Services.
Frontier is operated by Falmata Bedasso and Abdurahman Kadir. Under Diop’s oversight, the district’s contract authorized Frontier to receive up to $3.6 million through 2027 — a cumulative cap. Yet by early 2025, invoices show MPS had already paid more than $7 million to the company.
MPS admitted through a public data request that it does not have any copies of vehicle inventories provided by Frontier — despite the contract requiring “a vehicle inventory of all vehicles planned to be used to provide service.”
Last year, Alpha News reporters Liz Collin and Jenna Gloeb visited Frontier’s listed office building in Roseville, where the office appeared mostly vacant. An individual at the location said Bedasso was not there. Reporters observed about a dozen minivans bearing Frontier Transportation signage in the parking lot that appeared covered in snow and ice.
Even after Alpha News’ investigation, Diop signed another contract with Frontier in June 2025 valued at $2.7 million. Neither Diop nor MPS responded to multiple follow-up inquiries.
Staff warn of deeper problems inside district
An MPS employee who contacted Alpha News on the condition of anonymity described mounting frustration among staff as district leadership turns over and contracts come under scrutiny.
“I find it very disturbing that instead of submitting our financials that were due to the state on December 31, Diop was busy job-seeking and getting a job in Milwaukee,” the staff member said. “If he accepted the job three weeks ago, why did Minneapolis Public Schools wait until January 2nd to place him on administrative leave?”
The employee also questioned whether Diop had a relationship with Frontier Transportation.
“I would like to know if there was any personal connection or mismanagement that contributed to Frontier Transportation [being] overpaid by four million dollars,” the employee said.
They further described a district that has cycled leaders in and out while leaving long-term staff to absorb the fallout.
“Every few years we get complete leadership change — they muck up the district, spend recklessly, and move on to a different district leaving us in financial turmoil,” the employee said. “The people who suffer are the students, families, and dedicated staff.”
The staff member called for a full independent audit of Minneapolis Public Schools.
Transportation vendors are one thread in a growing statewide scandal. Prosecutors estimate more than $9 billion in losses across child daycares, adult daycares, autism centers, and more.
A Twin Cities attorney who also reviewed the Minneapolis Public Schools transportation contracts noted how the invoices for multiple East African-owned companies all look the same. Only the company names are different.
This article was originally published Jan. 11, 2026.
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