After days of mounting outrage from conservatives and independent journalists, Pam Bondi issued what many are calling a damage-control statement in response to growing accusations that the DOJ allegedly sat on one of the largest fraud scandals in modern U.S. history, the billion-dollar Minnesota Somali fraud network that looted taxpayer-funded welfare, daycare, COVID, and Medicaid programs.
The statement came only after independent investigative reporter Nick Shirley exposed the staggering scope of the corruption, centered largely in Minnesota’s Somali nonprofit ecosystem, and after conservatives erupted over the apparent lack of urgency from federal authorities while hundreds of millions vanished.
In her statement, Bondi acknowledged the work of independent journalists and attempted to assure Americans that the United States Department of Justice has been quietly investigating the fraud for months.
According to Bondi:
- 98 individuals have been charged
- 85 are of Somali descent
- More than 60 have already been convicted
She warned lawmakers that “more prosecutions are coming,” adding, “Buckle up.”
Bondi praised U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and local Minnesota media for assisting in building cases.
Pam Bondi wrote on X:
MINNESOTA FRAUD:
@NickShirleyyy’s work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota.
@TheJusticeDept has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals – 85 of Somali descent – and more than 60 have been found guilty in court.
We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!
I am incredibly grateful to our U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and @DMNnews for their dedicated and ongoing work to uncover this fraud and build strong cases against its perpetrators.
Here are a few examples of the cases we have prosecuted with other federal partners like @SecScottBessent.
Scam 1: FEEDING OUR FUTURE — THE LARGEST COVID-19 FRAUD CASE CHARGED IN THE COUNTRY
Claimed to serve children millions of free meals during COVID — few, if any, were ever fed
Submitted fake invoices and fake rosters of kids purportedly receiving meals
78 defendants charged to date | 57 defendants convicted
72 of the defendants are of Somalian descent | 5 defendants are currently fugitives in Africa
Millions of taxpayer dollars in fraud proceeds were sent overseas to East Africa and the Middle East
Ultimate price tag? $300–400 million
In August, we successfully secured the conviction of the Feeding Our Future scheme leader, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah.
Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay over $47 million in restitution
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/landmark-sentence-feeding-our-future-scheme-leader-sentenced-28-years-prisonAnd just last month, we sentenced Abdimijad Mohamed Nur — another key player in the Feeding Our Future scheme — to 10 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay millions in restitution.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/feeding-our-future-defendant-sentenced-10-years-prison
And the crimes in this case don’t end here…
Scam 2: JUROR BRIBERY
Not unlike what you would see in the corrupt Somali judicial system, defendants in the Feeding Our Future case intimidated a cooperating defendant and attempted to bribe jurors.
3 defendants delivered a bag containing $120,000 in cash to a juror’s house the night before closing arguments
They promised more money if the juror voted to acquit all 7 trial defendants
They offered this argument: “We are immigrants; they don’t respect or care about us”
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/75th-defendant-charged-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme
Scam 2: JUROR BRIBERY (continued)
According to the defendants, “[T]he government kept attacking Somali culture . . . [and] was very racist.”
This claim is ludicrous: the government was fighting the unprecedented level of fraud being committed
Scam 3: AUTISM TREATMENT MEDICAID SCHEME
Many defendants from the Feeding Our Future scam also set up fake “autism clinics”
Parents in the Somali community reported their children diagnosed as autistic, brought them into daycares disguised as “clinics,” and received huge financial kickbacks
The state government program underwriting this scam was supposed to cost $20 million
Somehow, it ballooned to $200 million — at taxpayers’ expense
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/first-defendant-charged-autism-fraud-scheme-0
Scam 4: MEDICAID FRAUD
Fraudsters identified Minnesota’s Medicaid coverage program for Housing Stabilization Services — a program meant to help people with disabilities, senior citizens, and people with mental illnesses
Then, they started sham LLCs and began signing up drug addicts and others in halfway houses for services that were NEVER provided
The program was supposed to cost $2.6 million per year — it exploded to $125 million per year
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/defendants-charged-first-wave-housing-stabilization-fraud-cases
We are working hand-in-hand with partners like @SecScottBessent, @Sec_Noem, @SecretaryTurner, and @SecretaryLCD to continue unraveling this scheme — and we will continue charging and convicting those behind it.
Thank you to @NickShirleyyy and local media in Minnesota for doing the kind of journalism that so many outlets used to do.
The people of Minnesota deserve better.
MINNESOTA FRAUD: @NickShirleyyy’s work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota. @TheJusticeDept has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals – 85 of Somali descent – and more than 60 have been found guilty in…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 29, 2025
