MINNEAPOLIS (VINnews) — Federal prosecutors have charged a 78th defendant in connection with the sprawling “Feeding Our Future” fraud case, alleging that more than $250 million in taxpayer funds intended to feed Minnesota children during the COVID-19 pandemic were instead stolen, with some money potentially funneled to the Somalia-based terrorist organization al-Shabab.
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The newest defendant, identified in court documents unsealed Monday, is accused of participating in a scheme that exploited federal child-nutrition programs by submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims for meals that were never served. Prosecutors say the operation involved dozens of sham nonprofits and shell companies that billed the government for millions of nonexistent meals.
According to the indictment, several defendants traveled to Somalia and Kenya, withdrawing large sums of cash that authorities believe were used for personal enrichment and, in some instances, may have reached al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.
The case, one of the largest pandemic-relief fraud investigations in the country, has already resulted in dozens of guilty pleas and several convictions following trials. Prosecutors allege the fraud ran from 2020 to 2022 and siphoned funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal Child Nutrition Program.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota declined to comment on the ongoing investigation beyond the filed charges.
Feeding Our Future, the St. Anthony-based nonprofit at the center of the scandal, was terminated from the federal programs in 2021 after state officials raised concerns about missing documentation and inflated meal counts. The organization and its founder have denied wrongdoing and are fighting related civil claims.
As of Monday, 78 individuals have now been charged in connection with the scheme. Trials for remaining defendants are scheduled through 2026.
where ever there is money, there is some one look to steal it.
the bigger the sum, the bigger the theft.
If you don’t give out the money, it can’t get stolen
Stop giving away taxpayers hard earned dollars to these wasteful and fraud ridden programs
The keep away from loshon Horah sticker .
Does that include Somalis?
zeh vessen nisht vi azoy tzu bussun arein der kinder. Feh oyf di falshe moysdoys vuss habben azoy getuun
Trump had the Minnesota state capitol burned down petty way to show strength to gain attention for schitzophrenia I’m him probably how I kno
HIAS