Largest Covid-19 Fraud Scheme in America Unravels

Strategic Insights -

Prosecutors in the US have taken another major step in dismantling the vast Covid-19 fraud scheme that implicated a non-profit organization, Feeding Our Future, and its partners in the US Department of Agriculture's child nutrition program. Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh, a 25-year-old Kenyan national, has been indicted in the District of Minnesota on one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering, expanding the list of defendants in the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in America. The scheme, which fraudulently claimed to serve meals to millions of low-income children, has ballooned into one of the largest Covid-era frauds, with more than $250 million misappropriated. At least 74 defendants have been charged so far.

Key Takeaways:

  • Sheikh's role in the scheme was to help launder and conceal the stolen funds abroad, making him the younger brother-in-law of one of the ringleaders, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah.
  • Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay back nearly $48 million in August, and he faces another sentencing in a bribery case.
  • Sheikh is accused of helping Farah use fraud proceeds to invest in a Kenyan real estate company, purchasing an apartment building in Nairobi, and buying land in Kenya's northeastern county bordering Somalia.
  • Text message exchanges between Sheikh and Farah revealed that Sheikh was aware of the fraudulent activities and was promised to become the "richest 25-year-old" by Farah.
  • Sheikh received large wire transfers from Farah, which he reported as "family support" and the source of income as his "salary."
  • Official documents indicate that Sheikh married a naturalized US citizen who lives in Minnesota and had moved into a $575,000 home purchased using proceeds of crime.
  • Sheikh has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering and faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, forfeiture of assets, and restitution orders.

Statistics:

  • Over $250 million was misappropriated in the largest Covid-era fraud scheme.
  • At least 74 defendants have been charged so far in the scheme.
  • Prosecutors allege that between 2020 and 2022, insiders fraudulently claimed to serve meals to millions of low-income children, billing the government for food that never existed.
  • Sheikh stands accused of helping Farah launder and move funds out of the US, with an indictment detailing the transfer of large sums, including $138,000 in cash and a $1.2 million wire transfer.

Sources:

  • "US Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota."
  • "FBI Minneapolis Field Office."