Battle Towards Fraud Is In all probability Going Higher Than It Appears
If you’ve been following the news this week, it might look like we’re losing the fight against the kind of fraud you remember from Nick Shirley’s visit to that government-funded Quality Learing Center. In Minnesota, two remarkable sentences delivered by the same federal judge in the “Feeding the Future” scandal make stealing from the government appear to be a fairly safe business plan for aspiring criminals.
First, convicted thief Abdul Abubakar Ali has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison after participating in the theft of millions of dollars in government funds. Second, convicted thief Zamzam Jama has been sentenced to a grand total of six months in prison for participating in the theft of “$4.3 million in fraudulent child nutrition program funds,” though news stories note that Jama was only responsible for “for $491,245 of the stolen funds.” So she’ll do about a month for every $82,000 she stole, not counting time off for good behavior.
The reactions are understandable: “A slap on the wrist is exactly what encourages fraud.” You’ll find that “slap on the wrist” language in more than one place.
But it’s mostly not that bad. This week’s lame sentences, disappointing as they are, are shaping up to be outliers, and Ali’s was at least partially explained by his willingness to help the government convict others. The most recent examples paint a figure that will probably prove to be at least a bit misleading, and a bunch of other courtroom action puts them into a clearer context.
Start here: While there are 78 “Feeding the Future” defendants so far, and many have been convicted, most cases have not yet resulted in sentencing. But the few other sentences that have been delivered are much better disincentives to future fraud. Last year, convicted fraud ringleader Abdiaziz Shafii Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff was sentenced to 17 years, while Mohamed Jama Ismail was sentenced – in 2024, during the Biden administration – to 12 years. This description of the authentically despicable behavior in these fraud rings comes from the DOJ’s announcement of Shariff’s sentence:
As the chief executive officer of Afrique Hospitality Group, Shariff obtained, misappropriated, and laundered millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to children. Their scheme was accomplished by exploiting changes in the nutrition program intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shariff and his co-defendants created and submitted fraudulent meal count sheets purporting to document the number of children and meals served at each site and false invoices purporting to document the purchase of food to be served to children at the sites. The conspirators also submitted fake attendance rosters purporting to list the names and ages of the children receiving meals at the sites each day. These rosters were fabricated and created using fake names.
Remember that when people tell you that Nick Shirley was peddling a fake controversy: There’s a lot of government funded fraud in Minnesota, and a good amount of it is being proved in court.
At least two “Feeding the Future” defendants who have been convicted but not yet sentenced probably face harsh prison terms: Aimee Bock and Salim Said “falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals,” and were convicted on a long list of felonies. Both also face millions of dollars in court-ordered forfeitures, and will likely hand over their homes, bank accounts, jewelry, and expensive cars. These are the cases to watch to see if “slap on the wrist” is really becoming a trend.
I asked the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Minnesota to work through the list of major pending cases with me, but this was their automated email response: “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is currently without a PIO.” So for now, the best picture we have of these ongoing cases will come from public records.
Looking ahead, a clearer and more focused effort against fraud in the use of government funding became more likely on Wednesday morning, as Vice President JD Vance administered the oath of office to a new assistant attorney general who will lead an anti-fraud division at the Department of Justice.
Vance has been assigned by President Trump to lead a national anti-fraud task force. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the vice-president offered this statement to the Federalist: “Under the task force’s leadership, each agency will be aggressive and relentless in finding and preventing fraud. In partnership with the task force, the DOJ will seek to prosecute fraudsters as aggressively as possible.”
The challenge is enormous, but there’s at least some evidence that points in the right direction. A stronger step, limiting federal funding for social services, awaits a Republican-led Congress that’s willing to take action.