By Ken DilanianNBC
News
The Justice Department on Tuesday announced criminal charges against 47 people accused of the largest coronavirus aid fraud scheme, a $250 million theft through what prosecutors described as a "blatant" hit. and "amazing" that he took advantage of a federal plan designed to feed needy children in Minnesota.
Federal authorities say a network of charities, restaurants and individuals ran the scam by claiming to provide meals to tens of thousands of children when in fact the money was going towards commercial real estate, luxury cars, homes and even coastal properties in Kenya. .
They denounce that the defendants took advantage of the relaxation of eligibility rules and the lack of supervision due to the pandemic.
“This is a brazen plan of staggering proportions,”
said District Attorney Andrew M. Luger in a press release.
Meals are bagged and packaged for distribution to students.Getty Images
"The defendants worked extremely quickly, stealing money at a breakneck pace," he added at a news conference, "more than 125 million fake meals are at issue in this case."
Many defendants face charges not only of fraud but also of bribery, as the federal government alleges the charities were pressured by food sites in exchange for directing federal grants to them.
And many are accused of money laundering for allegedly moving stolen funds through shell companies to blur the trail.
Prosecutors say the fraud was overseen by Aimee Bock, who ran a nonprofit organization called Feeding Our Future.
Bock has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that if there was fraud, it was without her knowledge.
Non-profit organizations like
is
they were to sponsor and supervise restaurants, community centers, and other places where meals were provided.
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Prosecutors say that organization opened more than 250 meal distribution locations throughout Minnesota and fraudulently obtained and disbursed more than $240 million in funds from the federal Child Nutrition Program, run by the Department of Agriculture.
Many of the defendants come from the large Somali community in Minneapolis, which was also where most of the non-existent meals were supposed to be provided.
FBI affidavits report that a well-known restaurant grossed $1.1 million in a single month, claiming to have fed 185,000 children.
The FBI noted in court records that a typical McDonald's restaurant pulls in $2.9 million, in an entire year.
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In the summer of 2020, the FBI claimed in court records, state officials became suspicious of the large number of meals being claimed at Feeding Our Future-sponsored sites and tried to deny payments at many of them.
But the organization sued in state court, and a judge ruled that the state had failed to make its case and ordered the payments to continue.
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The centers continued to receive millions of dollars that the government alleges were stolen, according to court records.
So far, the Justice Department has seized $50 million worth of property, vehicles and bank accounts, according to authorities.