MINNEAPOLIS (NewsNation) — Current and former federal sources confirmed to NewsNation that funds raised by a Minnesota-based nonprofit during the COVID-19 pandemic never made to those in need, but rather, some of it wound up in the hands of an al-Qaida-linked terror group, al-Shabbab, in Somalia.
The allegations against former nonprofit Feeding Our Future are among the most serious against an organization for alleged misconduct during the pandemic.
The organization recruited individuals to open more than 200 federal child nutrition program sites throughout Minnesota, claiming to be serving meals to thousands of children a day. The nonprofit, however, created fake attendance rosters and fake invoices — which would eventually be reimbursed by the federal government.
David Gaither, a former Minnesota lawmaker, told NewsNation he witnessed the fraud firsthand as the executive director of the International Education Center.
“This is the Safari restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. This is the epicenter of some of the biggest fraud and wasted abuse in this area,” said Gaither. “The owner right now is currently in jail, federal jail. This restaurant, which seats about 35, supposedly served 18,000-plus meals a day.”
U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was a fixture at the restaurant during her run for office in 2018.
Feeding Our Future was the start; others spawned from it.
To date, 86 people have been indicted. Of those indicted, federal authorities tell NewsNation, 79 of them are of Somali descent.
“We’ve been holding accountable those that are perpetrators of the crime. We are not holding accountable those that created the opportunity to have those perps do what they did. And that would be the policymaker, the attorney general, and the administration,” said Gaither.
Federal authorities who spoke with NewsNation on the condition of anonymity say al-Shabbab takes a cut of funds sent to Somalia.
A former member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force told NewsNation that although there are legitimate refugees here and “they do have a right to send money back, the system is way too untracked, way too wild. People are committing crimes, and that money is going back to Somalia.”