Minnesota man gets 28 years for $48 million COVID-era food fraud scandal
Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 36, must also pay nearly $48 million in restitution. He faces potentially more years in prison at a later sentencing hearing after previously pleading guilty in a juror bribery case involving a bag of $120,000 in cash.
Farah is one of dozens of people charged in the Feeding Our Future case in which prosecutors alleged a scheme to steal $300 million from a federally funded program meant to feed children during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Defendant Abdiaziz Shafii Farah walks into United States District Court during the third day of jury selection in the first Feeding Our Future case to go to trial in Minneapolis, April 24, 2024.
AP
Farah and several co-defendants went to trial last year where he was convicted of 23 of 24 counts against him. Those offenses include multiple counts of federal programs bribery, wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors said Farah exploited the program by opening fraudulent sites where he claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day.
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Farah and his associates falsified meal counts and invoices, including fake children's names, prosecutors said. He directed the stolen money to others and perpetuated the fraud through a 'pay-to-play' system,' prosecutors said.
He and his associates stole more than $47 million in program money, and Farah took more than $8 million over a year and a half period, according to prosecutors. He used that money to buy five luxury vehicles and real estate, including property in Kenya, prosecutors said. That overseas property and money prosecutors say Farah laundered via China are out of reach of U.S. law enforcement.
In a statement, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Farah 'has done untold damage to this state' by 'robbing us blind' after finding opportunity in Minnesota.
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The Associated Press left a phone message with and sent an email to an attorney for Farah for comment.
Seventy-three people have been charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future case; 51 have been found guilty.
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San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Justice Department targets New York attorney general, a Trump foe. Here's what to know
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump's Justice Department is zeroing in on New York Attorney General Letitia James with a subpoena for records related to the $454 million civil judgement she won against Trump for lying about his wealth, a person familiar with the matter has told The Associated Press. The subpoena is part of an investigation into whether James violated Trump's civil rights, another person said. The people could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke Friday to the AP on the condition of anonymity. Another subpoena seeks records related to James' lawsuit involving the National Rifle Association, a person familiar with the matter said. On top of that, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently named a special prosecutor to help conduct a mortgage fraud investigation into James. James has sued Trump and his Republican administration dozens of times over his policies as president and over how he conducted his private business empire. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to seek retribution against his opponents, and the moves against James are among the most serious yet against Trump's political foes by the Justice Department. Here's what to know about James and the escalating investigations: James says she's being politically targeted The Democratic attorney general has denied any wrongdoing and said the mortgage probe is politically motivated. Her personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, called the subpoenas 'improper.' 'Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration,' Lowell said. 'The art of the steal' James is the first Black woman elected to statewide office in New York, the state's first Black attorney general and the first woman elected to the post. She fixated on Trump during the 2018 campaign, branding him as a 'con man' and pledging to shine a 'bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.' As soon as she took office, James launched several lawsuits over his immigration and environmental policies. She inherited a state lawsuit against Trump's charitable foundation and steered it to a settlement that included a $2 million fine. She filed another civil lawsuit against Trump in September 2022, alleging that his company deceived banks, insurers and others by overvaluing assets and his net worth on financial paperwork. 'It's the art of the steal,' she said when announcing the case against Trump, turning the title of Trump's book 'The Art of the Deal' against him. Trump says James never intended to be fair In 2024, a New York judge ruled that Trump lied for years about his wealth and ordered him to pay $354.9 million in penalties plus nearly $100 million in interest. Trump is appealing the judgement. He also posted a $175 million bond to halt the state from collecting what he owes and seizing his assets. Trump says his financial statements actually understated his wealth and that any mistakes in the documents were harmless errors that played no role in banks' lending decisions. He and his lawyers repeatedly accused James of engaging in 'lawfare' for political purposes — a claim she denies. Trump has long criticized James′ legal volleys as political theater designed to catapult her to fame. Trump also complained that her comments about him, prior to her election, show she never intended to be fair. 'Corporate death penalty' In her role as a regulator of charities and nonprofit groups registered in New York, James sued the NRA and its longtime leader Wayne LaPierre. A jury last year found that LaPierre misspent millions of dollars and used the organization's funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle, while the NRA itself failed to properly manage its assets and violated whistleblower protections. A New York judge also banned LaPierre from holding a paid position with the organization for a decade, but declined to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the group. James had sought to dissolve the powerful gun advocacy organization, however a judge ruled that the allegations did not warrant a 'corporate death penalty.' Mortgage fraud investigation FBI Director Kash Patel in May confirmed James was being investigated after a Trump administration official accused her of mortgage fraud. James' lawyer says the accusation was a lie based on a purposeful misreading of documents. The investigation centers on forms James signed in 2023 while helping a niece buy a home in Norfolk, Virginia. One form stated that James intended to occupy the home as her 'principal residence.' But in other documents, James made clear she had no intention of living there. An email to the mortgage loan broker two weeks before she signed the documents stated the property 'WILL NOT be my primary residence.' This week, Bondi named Ed Martin as a special prosecutor to help conduct a mortgage fraud investigation into James, according to the person familiar with the matter. James denied any wrongdoing and called the claim politically motivated. Martin leads the Weaponization Working Group, which is examining Trump's claims of anti-conservative bias inside the Justice Department. Martin's nomination for District of Columbia U.S. attorney was pulled amid Republican lawmakers' concerns about his scant prosecutorial experience and support for Jan. 6 rioters.
18 hours ago
Louisiana to pay $9 million to man shot by state trooper during traffic stop
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19 hours ago
Justice Department escalates scrutiny of Trump foes with probes of Letitia James and Adam Schiff
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is escalating efforts to scrutinize perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump with investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff. The Justice Department has subpoenaed James for records related to a lawsuit the Democrat filed against Trump over alleged fraud in his personal business dealings, according to a person familiar with the matter. It's part of an investigation into whether James violated Trump's civil rights, another person said. Another subpoena seeks records related to a lawsuit involving the National Rifle Association and its longtime leader Wayne LaPierre. The people could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on the condition of anonymity. Attorney General Pam Bondi this week also named Ed Martin as a special prosecutor to help conduct separate mortgage fraud investigations into James and Democratic U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff of California, one of the people said. James and Schiff have denied any wrongdoing and have called the claims politically motivated. The moves are among the most serious yet the Justice Department has taken against political foes of the president, who vowed on the campaign trail to seek retribution against his opponents. Schiff and James are both vocal critics of Trump, and James has sued Trump and his Republican administration dozens of times over his policies as president and over how he conducted his private business empire. News of the subpoenas comes as the Justice Department advances an investigation into the Trump-Russia probe that shadowed Trump for much of his first term as president and as the administration has engaged in a widespread purge from the workforce of law enforcement officials who had been involved in examining the activities of Trump and his supporters. A spokesperson for James' office, Geoff Burgan, declined to confirm the subpoenas but issued a statement that said, 'Any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American. We stand strongly behind our successful litigation against the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association, and we will continue to stand up for New Yorkers' rights.' In a separate statement, James' personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, called the subpoenas 'improper.' 'Investigating the fraud case Attorney General James won against President Trump and his businesses has to be the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president's political retribution campaign,' Lowell said. 'Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration.' A spokesperson for the Justice Department, Natalie Baldassarre, declined to comment. FBI Director Kash Patel in May confirmed the existence of a separate investigation into James after a Trump administration official accused her of mortgage fraud. James' lawyer has said that accusation was a lie based on a purposeful misreading of documents in a lawful real estate transaction. Martin, who was named special prosecutor to help conduct that probe, has been leading the department's Weaponization Working Group since his nomination for District of Columbia U.S. attorney was pulled amid Republican lawmakers' concerns about his scant prosecutorial experience and support for Jan. 6 rioters. Martin is also involved in a separate investigation into Schiff, whom Trump has called to be prosecuted over mortgage fraud allegations related to a property in Maryland. Schiff's attorney called the allegations 'transparently false, stale, and long debunked.' 'Mr. Martin is a January 6-defending lawyer who has repeatedly pursued baseless and politically-motivated investigations to fulfill demands to investigate and prosecute perceived enemies,' said Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney in New York who is representing the senator. 'Any supposed investigation led by him would be the very definition of weaponization of the justice process.' Trump is appealing a $454 million judgment James won against him in a lawsuit alleging he and his companies defrauded banks and other lenders by giving them financial statements that inflated the value of his properties, including his golf clubs and his penthouse in Trump Tower. Trump says that his financial statements actually understated his wealth and that any mistakes in the documents were harmless errors that played no role in banks' lending decisions. He and his lawyers have repeatedly accused James of engaging in 'lawfare' for political purposes — a claim she has denied. In her role as a regulator of charities and nonprofit groups registered in New York, James also sued the NRA and LaPierre. A jury last year found that LaPierre misspent millions of dollars of the organization's money and used the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle, while the NRA itself failed to properly manage its assets and violated whistleblower protections. James had sought to dissolve the powerful gun advocacy organization altogether, though a judge ruled that the allegations did not warrant a 'corporate death penalty.' LaPierre announced his resignation from the NRA on the eve of the trial, and the NRA later said it had fresh board members and a new compliance team.
