New DOJ fraud division thwarted $340M in benefit schemes during first week
The Department of Justice said that its National Fraud Enforcement Division stopped schemes targeting $340 million in taxpayer funds in its first week and recovered more than $10 million.
Its first major case was the April 9 sentencing of Abdullahe Nur Jesow to three years and seven months for helping steal $250 million from a COVID-era child nutrition program run through a sham Minneapolis headquarters. Prosecutors said the Feeding Our Future scheme diverted money to luxury cars and overseas real estate instead of feeding children. Jesow was ordered to pay $866,458 in restitution, while Gandi and Suleman Mohamed, after pleading guilty, were ordered to repay $1.3 million and $8.66 million.
Prosecutors also secured a guilty plea from a former San Diego teacher accused of nearly $51 million in fraudulent Medicare billing, including laundering at least $14 million and paying $3.7 million in kickbacks. Other cases included $933,438 in restitution from an Oregon unemployment fraud case, a Pennsylvania COVID relief misuse case, and arrests of five people in Indiana, Kentucky, and Colorado accused of stealing $1.6 million in COVID funds.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said the division is committed to prosecuting fraud targeting taxpayers, noting total cases exceeded $340 million with losses ranging from $54,000 to over $100 million.
Vice President JD Vance leads a task force targeting fraud in federal benefit programs and has cited Minnesota as an example. In February, Vance and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz pulled $259.5 million in Medicaid funding from Minnesota over fraud concerns. Vance also accused Rep. Ilhan Omar of immigration fraud, which her office called “a ridiculous lie.”
The DOJ created the division on April 7. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than $1 trillion in federal funds may be vulnerable to fraud annually.
