Some of the Minnesota Somalians convicted in the Feeding Our Future scheme reportedly enjoyed luxurious lifestyles with money stolen from the federal government, the news coming as the state is under scrutiny regarding more alleged fraud.
The fraudsters stole hundreds of millions of dollars in federal COVID relief money and apparently used it to fund lavish lifestyles and not feed needy children, the New York Post reported Saturday.
Their rich lifestyles included condos, luxury cars, and real estate in Kenya, the outlet said, citing court documents.
One of those involved, 43-year-old Liban Yasin Alishire, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to wire fraud and money laundering, spent $350,000 of the money on a resort in Kenya where guests can hire a personal chef during their stay.
The Post also noted:
Aimee Bock, who prosecutors said masterminded the fraud operation, was a sugar mama to her former boyfriend, Empress Malcolm Watson Jr., paying him a $1 million salary as part of a phony contract and spending lavishly while bamboozling the public money.
The couple rented Lamborghinis, Rolls Royce’s, and other exotic cars luxury cars for $2,000 per day, on their trips, according to court documents.
They also routinely took lavish vacations to Las Vegas and Graceland, with Watson Jr. flaunting his stolen wealth on social media.
In June 2024, federal prosecutors charged nearly 50 Somali Muslim immigrants in Minnesota for thieving $250 million under the Feeding Our Future umbrella scheme, Breitbart News reported.
More recently, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said half of $18 billion in welfare funds has been lost to fraud in Minnesota, per Breitbart News:
“Minnesota has become a magnet for fraud, so much so that we have developed a fraud tourism industry — people coming to our state purely to exploit and defraud its programs,” Thompson said. “This is a deeply unsettling reality that all Minnesotans should understand.”
Thompson explained that “traditional Medicare and Medicaid fraud is that people overbill,” but said the fraud in Democrat Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota has been unique in that thieves are not providing any services, just creating fake companies and filing wholly fake bills to the state.
The news comes as citizen journalist Nick Shirley and his team exposed alleged fraud in Minnesota daycare and healthcare groups linked to the Somali community.
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