CBS News obtained files and photos that show how defendants in one of the largest COVID-era fraud schemes in Minnesota diverted hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars meant to feed children and spent the money on luxury items and overseas transfers. The exhibits include a confirmation email for an overwater villa with a private pool at Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, lakefront property in Minnesota, receipts for wire transfers to China and East Africa, first-class tickets to Istanbul and Amsterdam, a 2021 Porsche Macan and photos of stacks of cash.
Videos and documents show defendants — many of Somali descent — celebrating at opulent resorts, flying first class, buying cars and property, and wiring millions abroad. One text message included in the court files brags, “You are gonna be the richest 25 year old InshaAllah.” Another exchange shows a box packed with cash and a message reading “$270,000 dollars.”
At sentencing, 24-year-old Abdimajid Mohamed Nur was chastised by U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel: “Where others saw a crisis and rushed to help, you saw money and rushed to steal.” Nur was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $48 million in restitution for his role in the fraud.
Prosecutors say dozens of defendants siphoned hundreds of millions. The Treasury Department has said it will investigate whether any funds reached al Shabaab, and House Republicans have probed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the cases. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told “Face the Nation” that much of the money “has gone overseas, and we are tracking that both to the Middle East and to Somalia to see what the uses of that have been.” Multiple federal investigators told CBS News there is no evidence taxpayer dollars were funneled to al Shabaab, and prosecutors have not presented evidence linking the fraudsters to terrorism.
Andy Luger, the former U.S. Attorney who led the prosecutions, said, “The vast majority of the money that these folks made went to spending on luxury items for themselves,” adding there was never evidence the money funded terrorism nor that that was the intent of the roughly 70 people indicted.
The files show defendants wired millions to banks and businesses in China and transferred nearly $3 million to accounts in Kenya. Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 36, who was sentenced to 28 years last month, made six wire transfers totaling more than $1 million to banks in China between February and July 2021, according to records reviewed by CBS News. In one text, Farah instructed someone to “please send $1000 to Mogadishu bakara,” an apparent reference to an area in Somalia.
Farah owned Empire Cuisine and Market, which contracted with the nonprofit Feeding Our Future to provide meals to children. Prosecutors say Farah and co-defendants billed the state for $47 million, claiming to have served 18 million meals at more than 30 locations — but they did not distribute a single meal. Court exhibits document his spending on luxury cars, investment properties at home and overseas, first-class travel and Maldives resort trips, including a video of him popping champagne at a private pool villa in July 2021.
At Farah’s sentencing, a judge described the crimes as motivated by “pure, unmitigated greed.” Farah’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment, including whether any proceeds were diverted to al Shabaab. Rep. Ilhan Omar said on “Face The Nation” that any link between fraud within the Somali community and terrorism would be “a failure of the FBI.”
So far, federal prosecutors have convicted 61 people in the widening Minnesota fraud scandal, and investigations are ongoing. Pat Milton contributed to this report.
