{"id":29615,"date":"2026-01-09T21:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=29615"},"modified":"2026-01-09T21:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:48:20","slug":"bondi-sends-more-prosecutors-to-minnesota-as-somali-fraud-scandal-explodes-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=29615","title":{"rendered":"Bondi Sends More Prosecutors To Minnesota As Somali Fraud Scandal Explodes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\"\"
\u00a0Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This article may contain commentary
\nwhich reflects the author’s opinion.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Justice Department will dispatch additional federal prosecutors to Minnesota due to an expanding fraud investigation related to operations run by Somali nonprofits.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Department of Justice is dispatching a team of prosecutors to Minnesota to reinforce our U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office and put the perpetrators of this widespread fraud behind bars,\u201d Bondi told Fox News on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Bondi vowed \u201csevere consequences in Minnesota\u201d and added that her department stands \u201cready to deploy to any other state where similar fraud schemes are robbing American taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

A DOJ official\u00a0informed Fox News<\/a>\u00a0that the department is planning to allocate similar prosecutorial resources in other states.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Remarks by Attorney General Pam Bondi,\u00a0first reported by the New York Post<\/a>, come as the Justice Department continues a wide-ranging welfare fraud investigation that began under former Attorney General Merrick Garland.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/div>\n

In 2022, Garland announced the first round of indictments in what prosecutors described as a $250 million fraud scheme involving the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which authorities said exploited federally funded child nutrition programs. Garland characterized the case at the time as the largest pandemic-related relief fraud uncovered to date.<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice under Bondi has continued to investigate and prosecute individuals connected to Feeding Our Future, as well as related cases involving alleged juror bribery and health care fraud. Bondi has said the scope of the fraud is larger than previously understood and that additional criminal charges are expected, supported by an expanded team of prosecutors assigned to the department\u2019s Minnesota office.<\/p>\n

To date, the Justice Department has charged 98 people in fraud-related cases in Minnesota and secured 64 convictions, according to officials. Court records show that a majority of those charged are of Somali descent.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Trump administration \u2014 including the White House, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security \u2014 has increased its focus on immigration enforcement within Minnesota\u2019s Somali community, which numbers about 100,000 people.<\/p>\n

Administration officials have cited fraud and national security concerns, while critics argue that only a small portion of the community has been implicated and accuse President Donald Trump of advancing a policy they describe as discriminatory toward Somali Americans.<\/p>\n

This month, the Health and Human Services Department announced a freeze on billions of dollars in federal funding for childcare programs and various social services across five Democrat-led states, including Minnesota, as it investigates how taxpayer dollars are being used, Fox noted.<\/p>\n

A viral video posted in December by YouTube creator Nick Shirley drew renewed attention to allegations of fraud in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

The video, which shows Shirley visiting several Somali-run daycare centers and reporting that they were closed, has received millions of views across social media platforms.<\/p>\n

Some of the daycare centers referenced in the video have since disputed the claims implied by Shirley\u2019s footage, stating that they have not engaged in fraudulent activity.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Earlier this week,\u00a0Bondi confirmed<\/a>\u00a0that the Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into what she described as a decade-long \u201clawfare conspiracy\u201d orchestrated during the Obama-Biden era to protect Democrats from accountability while targeting President Donald Trump and his supporters.<\/p>\n

In written responses to Just the News, Bondi said prosecutors and federal agents are actively investigating the \u201cweaponization of government\u201d dating back to the 2016 Russia-collusion hoax and extending through subsequent election cycles.<\/p>\n

She characterized the probe as an ongoing conspiracy\u2014a legal framing that allows investigators to pursue charges beyond normal statutes of limitation by treating each act of political targeting as part of a continuing criminal enterprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt my direction, our U.S. Attorneys and federal agents are actively investigating instances of government weaponization nationwide,\u201d Bondi said. \u201cThis is a ten-year stain on the country committed by high-ranking officials against the American people. Under President Trump, we are fixing the damage and delivering justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n