The United States government has accused 47 people of
siphoning off $250 million from a federal programme meant to feed needy
children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The charges were announced on Tuesday.
The programme was meant to feed children in Minnesota.

The fraud was pulled off by a network of charities,
restaurants and individuals, federal prosecutors say. The network claimed they
were feeding tens of thousands of children, while the money was actually going
to commercial real estate, fancy homes, luxury cars and even beach property in
Kenya. A lack of oversight during the coronavirus pandemic led to the scam, say
authorities.

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“The defendants worked extremely fast, stealing
money at a breakneck pace. More than 125 million fake meals are at issue in
this case,” according to US Attorney Andrew M Luger who spoke at a press
conference.  

Federal officials have not only charged the accused
with fraud but also bribery because the government alleges that charities took
kickbacks from food providers in exchange for providing federal grants. Many
who are charged with money laundering moved the money through shell
corporations and in other ways so as to not leave behind a trace.

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Aimee Bock is the primary accused. Prosecutors say
Bock, who ran a non-profit called Feeding Our Future, oversaw the scam. She,
however, has denied wrongdoing and said that if fraud had occurred, it was
without her knowledge. Feeding Our Future and non-profits of the sort were
given the responsibility of supervising food supply to community centres, restaurants
and other food sites.

Also Read | What is Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock’s now-defunct non-profit?

Prosecutors say Feeding Our Future opened over 250
sites to distribute food throughout Minnesota and fraudulently obtained $240
million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program, run by the US Agriculture
Department.

Also Read | Food fraud: $250 million stolen from children’s scheme in US, 47 charged

A large number of those accused are from the East
African community based out of Minnesota, the areas where a large number of
these fake meals were apparently provided.   

A well-known restaurant is said to have collected $1.1
million in one month by claiming to feed 185,000 children, according to FBI
affidavits. To put the number in perspective, a typical McDonald’s earns $2.9
million in a whole year, FBI documents show.

In the summer of 2020, state officials became
suspicious at the large number of meals being sponsored by Feeding Our Future. When
they started denying payments, Feeding Our Future took them to court. A judge
ruled the state had not made its case and ordered the funding to continue.

It was then that the state reached out to the FBI
which began and investigation. A series of raids was conducted in January to shut
the funding streams. Nearly $50 million worth of property, vehicles and bank
accounts have been seized by the Justice Department so far, according to
officials.