Prosecutors say the scheme is one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in the country. The defendants allegedly stole more than $40 million.
Opening statements are expected Monday in the fraud trial of seven people charged in what federal prosecutors have called a massive scheme to exploit lax rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and steal from a program meant to provide meals to children in Minnesota. The seven will be the first of 70 defendants to go on trial in the alleged scam. Eighteen others have already pleaded guilty.
The defendants going on trial Monday before U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel in Minneapolis are Abdiaziz Shafii Farah; Mohamed Jama Ismail; Abdimajid Mohamed Nur; Said Shafii Farah; Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin; Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff; and Hayat Mohamed Nur. They have all pleaded not guilty. Their trial is expected to last around six weeks.
The defendants’ fraud, like an aggressive cancer, spread and grew,' prosecutors wrote in a summary of their case. Prosecutors say many of the purported feeding sites were nothing more than parking lots and derelict commercial spaces. Others turned out to be city parks, apartment complexes and community centers.
Among the defendants awaiting trial is Aimee Bock, the founder of Feeding our Future. She's one of 14 defendants expected to face trial together at a later date. Bock has maintained her innocence, saying she never stole and saw no evidence of fraud among her subcontractors. THE POLITICS The scandal stirred up the 2022 legislative session and campaign in Minnesota. Republicans attacked Gov. Tim Walz, saying he should have stopped the fraud earlier.
The Minnesota Department of Education now has an independent inspector general who is better empowered to investigate fraud and waste.
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