Minnesota fraud scheme unearths millions in luxury property, cars: DOJ

President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have launched new investigations into Minnesota's massive Feeding Our Future fraud matter pressing federal agencies to recover stolen taxpayer dollars and pursue additional enforcement actions including a new Treasury Department probe Republicans say the renewed investigations are necessary because despite dozens of convictions federal leaders are still working to recover only a fraction of the stolen money a process that has uncovered high-end vehicles luxury homes designer goods and large amounts of cash tied to the scheme Meanwhile city personnel in Minneapolis are bracing for an influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agents after the agency revealed plans for a new operation in the state At issue is a million fraud scheme that exploited a children's nutrition project funded by the U S Department of Agriculture and overseen by the state of Minnesota during the COVID- pandemic with the stated goal of providing food to school-aged children The scheme exploited the U S Department of Agriculture s decision to waive various of its standard requirements for the Federal Child Nutrition Effort during the pandemic including relaxing its requirement for non-school-based distributors to participate in the effort WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MINNESOTA S FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUD AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP S LATEST CRACKDOWNConspirators charged in the scheme falsely claimed to have served millions of meals to children during the pandemic but instead used the money for personal gain according to federal leadership They are also accused of fabricating invoices submitting fake attendance records and falsely distributing thousands of meals from hundreds of so-called food distribution sites across the state At least individuals in Minnesota have been indicted as part of the fraud scheme as Fox News Digital previously revealed and it is presumed to be the largest pandemic-era scheme in U S history Trial testimony and photos previously introduced as evidence in the occurrence manifested wads of more than in cash gold jewelry purchased in Dubai and four vehicles including a brand-new Tesla and a Porsche seized from one defendant s home and cars along with financial records for a million Prior Lake property that he bought to build a custom -square-foot lake house the Minnesota Star Tribune informed at the time of the trial But the effort to recover at least a portion of the stolen funds has proved to be a bit slower-going To date federal officers have recovered an estimated million in funding that was stolen as part of the Feeding Our Futures scheme according to estimates provided by the U S Attorney's Office in the state less than half of the million in stolen funds The slow recovery effort is not for lack of trying Last month a federal judge in the state ordered one defendant to pay million in restitution funds in addition to a -year prison sentence he received as part of his role in the sprawling fraud effort PATEL TOUTS FBI'S DOZENS OF CONVICTIONS IN MILLION MINNESOTA COVID SCAMOther individuals convicted have also been ordered to refund the leadership millions of dollars to recoup the stolen taxpayer funds Still the process can be complex and challenging That's because recovering the stolen funds often involves tracing them to how they were spent including U S properties and vehicles and then seizing those items for forfeiture which can contribute to the delay In chosen cases individuals who were convicted of the crimes veritably have family members still living in the homes they are accused of purchasing with the stolen funds Others have funneled money abroad into shell corporations while at least certain others appear to have spent the money to pay down their own credit card bills or otherwise fund their lavish lifestyles according to information provided by the Justice Department In the incident of Abdimajid Mohamed Nur the defendant who was ordered to pay million in restitution the stolen funds were sent to a shell company Nur is estimated to have spent the bulk of the in fraud proceeds through his shell company using that money to buy new vehicles take a honeymoon to the Maldives and purchase jewelry FBI Director Kash Patel described the scheme in July as one of the worst in Minnesota history These individuals misappropriated hundreds of millions in federal funds intended to nourish vulnerable children during a time of situation redirecting those support into luxury homes high-end vehicles and extravagant lifestyles while families faced hardship he reported TRUMP STATES BACK IN COURT OVER SNAP AS BENEFITS REMAIN IN LEGAL LIMBOCharging documents show that roughly food sites in the state served little or no food with the so-called food vendors and organizations fabricated to launder money intended to reimburse the cost of feeding children Senior FBI officers stated Fox News that the assessment and resulting trials and indictments continue to impact the state and have already touched off legislative restructuring in Minnesota They added that the inspection into the fraud remains ongoing and that additional charges were expected Stealing from the federal authorities equates to stealing from the American people there is no simpler truth FBI's special agent in charge Alvin Winston reported Fox News Digital in a message at the time