Feds charge 47, including 4 from Rochester, in ‘Feeding Our Future’ COVID-19 fraud scheme

(ABC 6 News) – Federal authorities announced on Tuesday charges against 47 people in connection to a massive COVID-19-related fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said the charges have been filed in connection to a $250 million scheme connected to ‘Feeding Our Future,’ a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designed to provide free meals to children in need.

Of the 47 people charged, ranging from conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery and money laundering, 4 are from Rochester:

• Sharmake Jama, 34, is charged with wire fraud, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Sharmake was a principal of Brava Restaurant and Café LLC. Brava Restaurant received approximately $4.3 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
• Ayan Jama, 43, is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Ayan was a principal of Brava Restaurant and Café LLC. Ayan Jama also created shell companies to launder fraudulent proceeds.
• Mustafa Jama, 45, is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Mustafa worked for Brava Restaurant and created shell companies to launder fraudulent proceeds.
• Zamzam Jama, 48, is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Zamzam worked for Brava Restaurant and created shell companies to launder fraudulent proceeds.

The indictment also names the following:

• Asha Jama, 39, of Lakeville, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Asha Jama worked for Brava Restaurant and created shell companies to launder fraudulent proceeds.
• Fartun Jama, 35, of Rosemount, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Fartun Jama worked for Brava Restaurant and created shell companies to launder fraudulent proceeds.

The defendants are accused of appropriating $4.3 million and using the money to buy vehicles, real estate, and property off the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office calls the scheme the “largest pandemic relief fraud scheme charged to date.”

Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of ‘Feeding Our Future,’ is charged with overseeing the scheme, through which the nonprofit’s employees recruited people and entities to open Federal Child Nutrition Program sites across the state. The sites then claimed to be serving thousands of children per day within days or weeks of being formed.

Federal officials say those involved also created dozens of shell companies to enroll in the program and receive and launder the proceeds from the scheme.

When the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) tried to conduct oversight, the attorney’s office says ‘Feeding Our Future’ gave false assurances that it was monitoring all of the sites under its sponsorship and the sites were serving the meals as they claimed. However, when pressed further by MDE, Bock accused MDE of discrimination and unfair scrutiny.

MDE then denied ‘Feeding Our Future’s’ site applications, and the nonprofit responded by filing a lawsuit against MDE that claimed discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

Altogether, the attorney’s office says ‘Feeding Our Future’ opened more than 250 sites across the state and fraudulently obtained $240 million in federal funding.

Those involved used the money to buy luxury vehicles, real estate in Minnesota, Kenya and Turkey, property in Ohio and Kentucky, and to fund international travel.

Luger called Tuesday’s announcement the “first wave of charges” and noted three of the 47 are expected to plead guilty in the near future.

“This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” Luger said. “These defendants exploited a program designed to provide nutritious food to needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they prioritized their own greed, stealing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funds to purchase luxury cars, houses, jewelry, and coastal resort property abroad. I commend the work of the skilled investigators and prosecutors who unraveled the lies, deception, and mountains of false documentation to bring this complex case to light.”

For more information about the scheme, read the release from the U.S. District of Minnesota Attorney’s Office by CLICKING HERE.