Luxury Cars, Private Villas And Stacks Of Cash: How Somali Fraudsters Spent Minnesotans’ Money

Luxury cars. Private villas. First-class flights. And taxpayer money meant to feed hungry kids.

New exhibits from court obtained by CBS News reveal how Somali defendants in one of the largest COVID-era fraud schemes in US history plowed through hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money on lavish lifestyles – including lakefront Minnesota properties, overwater bungalows in the Maldives, a Porsche Macan, stacks of cash, designer jewelry, campaigne-soaked vacations, and overseas wire transfers. 

Videos show defendants in the case celebrating poolside at a Madlives luxury resort.

In one text, a defendant bragged: “You are gonna be the richest 25 year old InshaAllah [God willing].”

Exhibits entered into evidence include:

• A confirmation email for a stay in an overwater villa with a private pool at Radisson Blu Resort Maldives
• Lakefront property in Minnesota
• Receipts showing wire transfers to China and East Africa
• First class tickets to Istanbul and Amsterdam
• A 2021 Porsche Macan
• Stacks of cash, texted between defendants

At the center of the scandal is a nonprofit-backed food program that prosecutors say was systematically exploited. One defendant alone billed the state for $47 million, claiming to have served 18 million meals at more than 30 locations - while failing to distribute a single meal, according to prosecutors. 

Among those sentenced is Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, 24, who used stolen taxpayer funds to finance luxury travel and high-end purchases. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel issued a sharp rebuke, telling him: “Where others saw a crisis and rushed to help, you saw money and rushed to steal.”

Nur was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $48 million in restitution.

Cash Flows Overseas — and Unanswered Questions

The defendants also wired millions of dollars overseas, including to banks and companies in China, East Africa, and Kenya. Investigators say tracing funds routed through China is especially difficult, calling it an investigative “black hole.”

One defendant, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 36, sent more than $1 million to Chinese banks in six separate wire transfers in 2021 and nearly $3 million to Kenyan accounts. In one text message, Farah instructed someone to send money to Mogadishu’s Bakara Market, a location once controlled by al Shabaab.

Farah, who owned a Minnesota restaurant contracted to provide meals under the program, was sentenced last month to 28 years in prison. At sentencing, a judge said his crimes were driven by “pure, unmitigated greed.”

Terror Funding? Officials Say No Evidence… So Far

The scale of the fraud has reignited political scrutiny. House Republicans recently launched a probe into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the case, while the Treasury Department announced it is reviewing whether stolen funds could have reached extremist organizations - with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealing that investigators are tracking the overseas transfers. That said, CBS News sources tell the outlet that they have yet to uncover evidence that taxpayer money made it to terrorist group al Shabaab. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that investigators are tracking overseas transfers to determine their ultimate use. But federal investigators told CBS News there is no evidence that taxpayer money was funneled to al Shabaab, and prosecutors have presented no terrorism-related charges.

“There was never any evidence that this money went to fund terrorism nor was there any evidence that was the intent of the 70 people we indicted,” said former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger, whose office prosecuted many of the cases. 

So far, 61 people have been convicted in the sprawling Minnesota fraud scandal, with more investigations still underway. As investigators continue chasing the money trail, one question still looms: How did so much cash slip through the cracks – and who else knew?