[Gateway] A Minnesota jury found 5 of the 7 Somali defendants guilty of stealing millions of dollars in Covid funds intended to feed children.70 members of the Somali community in Minnesota stole about $250 million in Covid funds. The seven defendants on trial related to the scheme were accused of stealing more than $40 million in taxpayer money.
Millions of dollars went overseas to Somalia. 80% of the stolen Covid money was never recovered.
"The verdict confirms what we’ve known all along, which is that defendants falsified documents, they lied and they fraudulently claimed to be feeding millions of meals to children in Minnesota during COVID," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said. "The defendants took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the state of Minnesota and to steal tens of millions of dollars."
The guilty verdict comes after a juror was offered a bag of cash to vote to acquit. A Somali woman showed up at one of the juror’s homes with $120,000 in cash. The juror was ultimately dismissed. The FBI is still investigating the bribe.
