U.S. Federal authorities in Minnesota have uncovered extensive fraud targeting state-funded programs such as Feeding Our Future, housing support, child nutrition, and autism services.
The authorities found that a large share of the misappropriated funds was funneled abroad, with significant amounts ending up in Kenya’s real estate.
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service continue to trace the stolen assets.
On December 28, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the dismantling of a $250 million fraud scheme in Minnesota that targeted federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and widespread money laundering linked to the Feeding Our Future network.
Patel said the FBI had increased personnel and resources in Minnesota and reaffirmed that protecting taxpayers and children’s remains a top priority nationwide.
“Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide. 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 said.
In the Feeding Our Future case, authorities have recovered approximately $60–70 million to date, with ongoing efforts to seize additional properties and funds overseas.
U.S. Federal Traces Millions in Minnesota Program Fraud to Kenyan Properties
During an interview with Fox News on December 1, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that one of the schemes involved a non-profit and its affiliates that claimed to provide meals to tens of thousands of American children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While taxpayers reimbursed the organizations for these meals, federal prosecutors found that almost none of the meals were delivered.
Leaders of the organizations allegedly used the funds to purchase houses, luxury cars, and property in Turkey and Kenya.
She also alleged that hundreds of other organizations were reimbursed for services intended to help people at risk of homelessness, but the promised support was never provided.
“They were reimbursed for those meals by taxpayers. However, federal prosecutors found that almost all of those meals were never even delivered to hungry children,” she said.
“In fact, those organizations’ leaders spent the money on houses, luxury cars, and real estate in Turkey and Kenya.”
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Kenyans Charged in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme
The most notable case is the Feeding Our Future scandal, widely considered the largest COVID-19-related fraud in U.S. history.
Fraudsters stole over $250 million from federal child nutrition programs by submitting false claims for meals that were never provided.
A Kenyan by the name Abdiaziz Shafii Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison in August 2025.
In September 2025, Farah’s brother, Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh, a Kenyan national, was also indicted for conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
According to the indictment, Sheikh helped launder more than Ksh5.16 billion ($40 million) by investing in Kenyan real estate, including a 20% stake in a development company, an apartment building in Nairobi’s South C neighborhood, and land in Mandera County.
The Federal Child Nutrition Program provides meals to children through schools and other programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA relaxed some rules, allowing restaurants to participate and allowing food to be given to children outside of school.
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In the Feeding Our Future case, the nonprofit led by Aimee Bock and Salim Said took advantage of these changes. They set up new sites across Minnesota, claimed to serve meals that were never provided, and submitted fake records to get money from the program, which was then shared among co-conspirators.
In a separate case, in September 2025, Asha Farhan Hassan was charged with defrauding Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) autism services program of over $14 million by submitting claims for services that were never delivered.
U.S. Court documents indicated that a portion of the stolen funds was used to purchase real estate in Kenya.
On December 18, 2025, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson called the situation “industrial-scale fraud,” noting that since 2018, 14 Minnesota programs, mostly Medicaid-related, handled around $18 billion in federal funds, with estimates suggesting half or more may have been lost to fraud.
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