by KAYLA GASKINS, WJLA

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Newly obtained court documents are revealing the extraordinary scope of what federal prosecutors say was one of the largest COVID-era fraud schemes in the United States — a sprawling operation in Minnesota that siphoned off hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars earmarked to feed low-income children during the pandemic.

According to investigators, the defendants — many of Somali descent — exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program and used it as a personal cash pipeline, generating what prosecutors describe as a global luxury spending spree. Court exhibits obtained by CBS News show first-class international travel, a private villa with a pool in the Maldives, lakefront homes in Minnesota, stacks of cash, luxury vehicles, and wire transfers sending taxpayer money overseas to China and East Africa.

“We’re not even at the end of the beginning of our pursuit of the stolen money and the people who stole it,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said. He told investigators the total amount stolen is “well in excess of a billion dollars.”

One text message cited in the case shows a defendant boasting to a friend, “You are gonna be the richest 25-year-old, Inshallah — God willing.”

The Minnesota scandal is also drawing attention to another alleged fraud case unfolding in Maine, where prosecutors say the structure bears striking similarities. Dr. Abdullahi Ali, a Somali American physician and the executive director of Gateway Community Services, is accused of defrauding the state’s Medicaid system. Maine state Sen. Matt Harrington, a Republican, said the allegations underscore systemic vulnerabilities. “You shouldn’t be able to rob taxpayers of millions of dollars and just get away with it,” he said.

Critics say Minnesota officials ignored warning signs for years. Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute, argues that political leaders feared backlash if they questioned the nonprofits involved. “The corruption went on and on for years because there was this climate of fear,” he said, adding that concerns about being labeled discriminatory prevented leaders from raising alarms.

Republicans in Congress have opened an investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, accusing him of allowing the fraud to proliferate on his watch. Walz has defended his administration’s response but acknowledged the state should have moved sooner. “Of course, we always wish we’d done more,” he said. “There was a lack of skepticism around these programs.”

The Treasury Department is conducting its own probe to determine whether any of the stolen Minnesota funds that were transferred overseas may have ended up in the hands of Al-Shabab, a terrorist organization based in Somalia.

Source: WJLA-ABC Ch 7