47 people have been charged with a fraud which is now believed to be the largest Covid-19 pandemic relief fraud till date. The charges are of regarding stealing $250 million from a government aid programme which was originally meant to feed the children during the tough times of the pandemic. It is now alleged that the accused have spent the money on their luxury and lifestyle buying cars, properties and several goods.
A non-profit organization of Minnesota named ‘Feeding Our Future’ is accused of plotting everything while the founder denies everything.
$250 Million Fraud
Christopher Wray, FBI director says that this kind of act “egregious plot” was the largest one so far.
The accused have issued bills for non-existent children, said the department of Justice in their statement. They exploited the government’s initiative through which several private restaurants could claim funding under the very sponsorship of non-profit organisations. They are also said to have bribed the employees of ‘Feeding Our Future’ and they also sponsored many sham distributing websites.
These sham websites claimed to feed thousands of children in a matter of days and weeks. They submitted bogus papers using fake children’s names. Most of the names were taken from the website www.listofrandomnames.com. The group of accused used the money to buy properties in countries like Turkey and Kenya and also to fund their international visits.
The charges include wire fraud, money laundering and bribery.
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