CNN Exposes $250 Million COVID-19 Fraud Scheme In Minnesota Tied To Walz Administration

A recent CNN report has spotlighted a $250 million COVID-19 fraud scheme involving Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future initiative, raising concerns about oversight within the administration of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D). The scheme is considered the largest of its kind in the United States during the pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal authorities asserted that funds meant to support food programs for children in need were instead diverted for personal luxury expenses. Prosecutors eventually proved that individuals involved misappropriated taxpayer money, using it to purchase real estate, luxury vehicles and even a suburban bar and restaurant.

The Feeding Our Future fraud involved entities registered under Minnesota’s Department of Education, which allocated federal funds through a child nutrition program. Gov. Walz defended his administration’s actions at the time of the fraud, as highlighted in the federal indictment.

However, according to a 2022 report from the Minnesota Reformer, the Walz administration couldn’t decide when the governor became aware of the fraud:

In an interview with the Reformer on Thursday, Walz said he was verbally briefed about suspicious activity in the program in late April or early May of 2020 — “very early in the program,” Walz said.

A spokesperson for the governor later told the Reformer that Walz misspoke and he found out when MDE alerted federal authorities. MDE first reached out to officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with concerns about the nonprofit’s rapid growth in the summer of 2020.

“The governor was aware of issues and concerns related to the program in 2020, when MDE raised those concerns with the federal government and (Feeding Our Future) sued MDE,” the governor’s office said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

 The spokesperson then followed up again to clarify that Walz found out after Feeding Our Future filed a lawsuit in November 2020.

Mohamed Jama Ismail, the operator of Empire Cuisine and Market, was among five people convicted in June 2024 for his role in the scheme. Acting as a vendor for Feeding Our Future, Ismail enrolled in the program at the pandemic’s onset, receiving federal funds to allegedly provide meals for children. Prosecutors proved that Ismail falsified meal records to profit personally, while children in need continued to suffer.

Further revelations have surfaced during sentencing discussions for Ismail, who attempted to flee the United States after learning of the federal investigation against him. Prosecutors are urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence, citing Ismail’s unaccounted financial transfers to China. They argue that these undisclosed funds raise concerns that Ismail could emerge from prison with considerable hidden wealth.

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