In connection with the largest-ever Covid-19 assistance fraud scam, US prosecutors have indicted 47 persons. The suspects are suspected of taking a staggering $250 million from a government aid programme that was meant to feed needy children during the health crisis. The largest of its sort to date, according to a statement made by FBI director Christopher Wray on Tuesday, the BBC said. According to the Department of Justice, the suspects are accused of billing for meals they allegedly did not serve to children who were not actually there (DoJ).
According to allegations made against the defendants, members of the Minnesota non-profit organisation Feeding Our Future were bought off to sponsor a number of fictitious distribution venues. According to the DoJ, these websites claimed to be providing meals to thousands of kids every day within days or weeks of their creation. Instead, they were using fictitious children's names and filing fake paperwork. According to the Department, the accused utilised the money to pay worldwide travel as well as the purchase of expensive cars and real estate in the US, Kenya, and Turkey. According to the BBC, the individuals are accused of wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery. But Feeding Our Future has refuted all accusations of impropriety.
We have maintained our innocence since the very beginning, according to a lawyer for the organization's founder, Aimee Bock, who spoke to the BBC. The indictment, according to him, is "merely the beginning of the criminal process" and just contains "mere allegations." This development follows the DoJ's filing of more than 1,000 criminal charges in March, which resulted in losses of $1.1 billion, and its involvement in civil lawsuits alleging fraud in loans totaling more than $6 billion.
According to allegations made against the defendants, members of the Minnesota non-profit organisation Feeding Our Future were bought off to sponsor a number of fictitious distribution venues. According to the DoJ, these websites claimed to be providing meals to thousands of kids every day within days or weeks of their creation. Instead, they were using fictitious children's names and filing fake paperwork. According to the Department, the accused utilised the money to pay worldwide travel as well as the purchase of expensive cars and real estate in the US, Kenya, and Turkey. According to the BBC, the individuals are accused of wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery. But Feeding Our Future has refuted all accusations of impropriety.
We have maintained our innocence since the very beginning, according to a lawyer for the organization's founder, Aimee Bock, who spoke to the BBC. The indictment, according to him, is "merely the beginning of the criminal process" and just contains "mere allegations." This development follows the DoJ's filing of more than 1,000 criminal charges in March, which resulted in losses of $1.1 billion, and its involvement in civil lawsuits alleging fraud in loans totaling more than $6 billion.
