US-based Somali nationals with ties to Kenya have been identified among 47 people accused of stealing from a programme aimed at providing meals for children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They have been charged in the US in connection with theft of $250m (£220m) in an alleged Covid-19 relief fraud scheme.
US federal authorities on Tuesday announced that the suspects are linked to Aimee Bock – the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, a non-profit organisation that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program in Minnesota.
Ms Bock denies any wrongdoing.
As part of the alleged scheme, Feeding Our Future employees recruited individuals and entities to open Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota.
These sites, created and operated by the defendants and others, claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed.
The suspects are alleged to have issued bills for meals they did not serve to children who did not exist, said the Department of Justice (DoJ) in a statement.
The department alleges the defendants spent the spoils to purchase luxury vehicles, residential and commercial real estate in Minnesota as well as property in Ohio and Kentucky, real estate in coastal Kenya and Turkey, and to fund international travel.
One of the suspects, Mohammed Jama Ismail, was arrested in the US in April as he tried to leave the country for Kenya via Amsterdam. He pleaded guilty to passport fraud last month.
“Today’s indictments describe an egregious plot to steal public funds meant to care for children in need in what amounts to the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme yet,” said FBI director Christopher Wray.
The suspects are charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery.
Minnesota hosts a large community of immigrants from East Africa, mainly Somalis and Ethiopians.
Source: BBC