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FBI Director Kash Patel said that the bureau is going after fraud in Minnesota after a daycare was accused of stealing $4 million from taxpayers. Patel wrote a long post on X on Sunday saying that the FBI has known about fraud claims in the state for a long time and threatened to take action against those who commit them.
“The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs. Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide,” Patel began in a lengthy tweet.
“To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network,” Patel continued.
He added, “The case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions. Defendants included Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud, Ahmed Ali, Hussein Farah, Abdullahe Nur Jesow, Asha Farhan Hassan, Ousman Camara, and Abdirashid Bixi Dool, each charged for roles ranging from wire fraud to money laundering and conspiracy. These criminals didn’t just engaged in historic fraud, but tried to subvert justice as well. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur and others were charged for attempting to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash. Those responsible pleaded guilty and were sentenced, including a 10-year prison term and nearly $48 million in restitution in related cases.”
“The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing. Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible,” Patel concluded.
His comments came after Nick Shirley, an independent journalist, shared footage of a Minnesota daycare that looked empty but got millions of dollars from taxpayers.
Lawmakers were outraged by footage of the center, which had a sign that misspelled “Quality Learing Center.” They said that state officials let the “largest fraud in US history” go unchecked.
The alleged daycare fraud was the most recent in a long line of cases in Minnesota where public money was misused. One of the biggest was a scheme during the COVID pandemic that involved the federally funded nonprofit group Feeding Our Future.
At least 78 people, 72 of whom are Somali, have been charged in connection with the illegal plan.
Patel stressed in his announcement that the FBI has been going after a huge fraud network that stole money from a food program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors said that most of the meals that were supposed to go to low-income kids during the pandemic never happened. Instead, the money went to expensive homes, cars, jewelry, and real estate in other countries.
Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud, Ahmed Ali, Hussein Farah, Abdullahe Nur Jesow, Asha Farhan Hassan, Ousman Camara, and Abdirashid Bixi Dool were all charged with crimes like wire fraud and conspiracy.
He said that Abdimajid Mohamed Nur and others tried to bribe a juror with $120,000, pleaded guilty, and were then sentenced to 10 years in prison and almost $48 million in restitution in other cases.
Also, a campaign worker for Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American congresswoman who has represented Minnesota’s 5th district since 2019, said he served 5,000 meals a day under the fake food site Advance Athletic Development.
He instead took millions of dollars and admitted to fraud in August of this year.
During Omar’s 2018 and 2020 campaigns, he was in charge of a high-intensity voter mobilization effort in the Somali community in Minneapolis.
This comes after it was alleged that Minnesota’s government lost at least $1 billion in public funds intended for feeding children, helping the homeless, and providing autism therapy.
Over the past five years, people mostly from Somali communities grew rich running companies that charged the state millions for social services that never happened, according to The New York Times.
Earlier this month, Omar spoke out against the massive welfare fraud, warning that it has a significant impact on the Somali community.
“You know, this also has an impact on Somalis because we are also taxpayers in Minnesota. We could have also benefited from the program and the money that was stolen,” Omar said.
