Five found guilty in $40 million scheme to steal from federal food aid program

After a seven-week trial, a jury found five defendants guilty for their part in exploiting government funding for a program created to feed low-income children after school and during the summer.

The defendants received more than $40 million from the Department of Agriculture for 18 million meals at 50 food sites across Minnesota , which was overseen by the nonprofit organizations Partners in Nutrition and Feeding Our Future.

Two defendants tried in the case were found not guilty. An additional 63 individuals charged for their part in the scheme are still awaiting trial. The FBI has claimed it is the largest COVID-19 pandemic fraud case in the country with $250 million allegedly stolen.

"The verdict confirms what we've known all along, which is that defendants falsified documents, they lied and they fraudulently claimed to be feeding millions of meals to children in Minnesota during COVID," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a news conference after the verdicts were read in Minneapolis. "The defendants took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the state of Minnesota and to steal tens of millions of dollars."

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A total of 41 counts, including money laundering and wire fraud, were brought against the seven defendants. Prosecutors argued that the defendants submitted fake invoices and rosters of made-up children’s names. More than 30 witnesses were called to testify, saying how very little to no meals were served, and FBI agents said they traced money used for personal expenses.

The jury was sequestered for four nights after one of the jurors said a woman dropped $120,000 in cash in front of her home. The juror, 23, said the woman offered her more money if she were to find the defendants not guilty. The juror was dismissed from the case and so was another juror who found out about the incident from a family member.