Luxury cars, private villas and overseas wire transfers: CBS News obtained dozens of files and photos that reveal how Minnesota fraudsters blew through hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars as part of one of the biggest COVID-era fraud schemes.
The files document a spending spree in which defendants, many of Somali descent, took taxpayer money meant to feed hungry children and used it to buy cars, property and jewelry. Videos show them popping champagne at an opulent Maldives resort. In a text message, one defendant boasts: “You are gonna be the richest 25 year old InshaAllah [God willing].”
The documents feature exhibits from a recent federal trial, many of which are being made public by CBS News for the first time. The exhibits include:
- A confirmation email for a stay in an overwater villa with a private pool at Radisson Blu Resort Maldives
- Lakefront property in Minnesota
- Receipts showing wire transfers to China and East Africa
- First class tickets to Istanbul and Amsterdam
- A 2021 Porsche Macan
- Stacks of cash, texted between defendants
At the sentencing of a defendant who used taxpayer funds for cars and the Maldives vacation, 24-year-old Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel admonished him, saying: “Where others saw a crisis and rushed to help, you saw money and rushed to steal.” {snip}
Nur is one of dozens who siphoned hundreds of millions in stolen taxpayer funds — with questions still swirling about where all the money went. The crime has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks: House Republicans last week launched a probe into Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the cases, and the Treasury Department said it will investigate whether money made its way to al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab, which is based in Somalia.
{snip}
A CBS News review of the files shows that defendants wired millions in stolen funds overseas, including to banks and companies in China. Officials said finding the ultimate recipients of money routed through China will be challenging because it can be an investigative black hole.
The defendants also transferred nearly $3 million to accounts in Kenya.
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 36, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison last month for his role in the scheme, made six separate wire transfers worth more than $1 million to banks in China between February and July 2021, according to records reviewed by CBS News.
{snip}
{snip} Prosecutors say he and his co-defendants billed the state for $47 million, claiming to have served 18 million meals at more than 30 locations — but they didn’t distribute a single meal.
{snip}
The post Luxury Cars and Private Villas: See How Minnesota Fraudsters Spent Millions Intended for Hungry Kids appeared first on American Renaissance.
American RenaissanceRead More
T1
