Prosecutors say few meals were actually served, and the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewelry.
, including bringing charges in more than 1,000 criminal cases involving losses in excess of $1.1 billion.
The defendants in Minnesota face multiple counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Luger said some of them were arrested Tuesday morning. But during the pandemic, some of the standard requirements for sites to participate in the federal food nutrition programs were waived. The USDA allowed for-profit restaurants to participate, and allowed food to be distributed outside educational programs. The charging documents say the defendants exploited such changes “to enrich themselves.”
One example described a small storefront restaurant in Willmar, in west-central Minnesota, that typically served only a few dozen people a day. Two defendants offered the owner $40,000 a month to use his restaurant, then billed the government for some 1.6 million meals through 11 months of 2021, according to one indictment. They listed the names of around 2,000 children — nearly half of the local school district’s total enrollment — and only 33 names matched actual students, the indictment said.
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47 people charged in alleged scheme that stole $250M from food program, feds sayThe DOJ has charged 47 people in an alleged scheme that the feds say stole $250M from a program aimed at feeding Minnesota children during the pandemic.
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47 people charged in alleged scheme that stole $250M from food program, feds sayThe DOJ has charged 47 people in an alleged scheme that the feds say stole $250M from a program aimed at feeding Minnesota children during the pandemic.
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Feds: Food scheme stole $250 million in COVID-19 pandemic funds; 47 people chargedProsecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Depar…
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Feds: Minnesota food scheme stole $250M; 47 people chargedFederal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest fraud scheme yet to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children. Prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food nutrition programs.
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Feds: Minnesota food scheme stole $250M; 47 people chargedMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts on Tuesday in what they said was a massive scheme that took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to steal $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children.
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