How many criminal convictions related to Minnesota child‑care fraud involved Somali‑descent defendants, and what were the charges?
Executive summary
Reporting on the Minnesota child‑care and related social‑services fraud investigations shows conflicting tallies, but multiple national outlets converge on a core finding: a large majority of defendants accused in the schemes are of Somali descent and have produced dozens of convictions; one commonly cited, well‑sourced figure is 57 convictions so far, with other outlets reporting between about 40 and nearly 90 convictions depending on which subset of cases they include [1] [2] [3]. The convictions span federal charges tied to Feeding Our Future and other child‑care, nutrition and Medicaid‑related schemes, including wire and fraud offenses, theft and bribery, and alleged kickback and false‑billing schemes [4] [5] [2].
1. Conflicting counts, one clear pattern: most defendants are Somali‑descent
Different news organizations and government statements provide varying conviction totals—WCVB, PBS and AP report 57 convictions in the broader multi‑year probe into Feeding Our Future and related fraud, noting the number of defendants grew to 78 and that most defendants are of Somali descent [1] [6] [7]. Other outlets give larger totals: NewsNation reported “nearly 90” convictions [3], KOMO/Seattle cited 60 convictions out of 92 charged [8], and CNN said “more than 40 convictions” tied to Feeding Our Future alone [2]. Taken together, the consistent reporting across sources is that a majority of the people charged and convicted in the various linked investigations are Somali Americans [1] [7] [9].
2. What the convictions covered: fraud schemes tied to child nutrition, child care and autism services
The convictions and charges reported fall into several recurring categories: schemes to defraud a federally funded child‑nutrition program run through Feeding Our Future by submitting fake invoices or pretending to serve thousands of meals; false billing for child‑care attendance through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP); fraudulent Medicaid claims for Applied Behavior Analysis and autism services; and related theft, wire fraud and money‑laundering allegations, often accompanied by restitution claims [4] [1] [5]. Reporting highlights that some defendants allegedly funneled funds abroad or spent proceeds on luxury purchases, and prosecutors have described the broader case as among the country’s largest COVID‑era fraud schemes [1] [3].
3. Specific charge examples and named convictions cited in reporting
Several concrete examples anchor the abstract categories: Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, was convicted on multiple federal counts including bribery in connection with the nonprofit case [2]. A PCA provider, Abdirashid Said, was convicted in 2021 of theft by swindle—an earlier but relevant precedent cited by investigators [4]. Investigators allege at least one defendant paid kickbacks to induce autism diagnoses and billed about $6 million to Medicaid for one‑on‑one therapy (Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf is named in reporting as an example) [5]. Prosecutors have pursued typical federal fraud charges—wire fraud, theft, false claims and conspiracy—across the cases [1] [4].
4. Why an exact Somali‑descent conviction count is elusive and what can be said with confidence
The precise number of convictions involving Somali‑descent defendants is not uniformly reported across outlets and depends on whether counts include only Feeding Our Future, related child‑care and PCA cases, or a wider set of linked indictments; NewsNation, CNN, WCVB, AP and local reporting present different slices of the unfolding prosecutions [3] [2] [1] [7] [8]. What the reporting reliably supports is: federal prosecutors have brought dozens of fraud convictions in Minnesota tied to child‑care, nutrition and Medicaid programs; many—often described as a large majority—of those charged and convicted are Somali Americans; and the charges include bribery, theft by swindle, false claims, wire fraud, kickback schemes and related conspiracies [1] [2] [5].