How many people have been convicted in Minnesota fraud cases since 2022 and what sentences were imposed?
Executive summary
Reporting does not converge on a single, definitive tally, but major outlets and official statements place the number of convictions for Minnesota-related fraud prosecutions that began in 2022 in the range of roughly 56–64 people; prosecutors and news organizations most commonly cite about 56–62 convictions, with some partisan or agency statements reporting higher totals or slightly different counts as of late 2025 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Sentences vary widely: federal press releases and reporting show prison terms from a few years (36 months) to a decade (120 months/10 years), substantial restitution orders (multi‑million dollars), and other penalties such as supervised release [5] [6] [7] [8].
1. The headcount: why sources disagree and the best reading of convictions since 2022
Different outlets and agencies report conviction totals that cluster but do not match exactly: CBS News reported 62 convicted in the broad set of federal fraud prosecutions tied to Minnesota schemes that began in 2022 [2], Fox affiliates and local outlets report figures like 56 convictions in the Feeding Our Future case specifically [1], PBS and Newsweek cite 57 convictions tied to that major scheme [3] [9], while a White House item and other partisan releases state 64 convictions across multiple probe strands [4]. These variations reflect real differences in scope (some tallies count only Feeding Our Future defendants, others include housing‑stabilization and bank‑fraud cases), timing (new guilty pleas or convictions arrive frequently), and source agendas; plausibly the most reliable synthesis for public reporting is that “roughly 56–62 convicted” is supported across multiple independent news organizations and DOJ statements as of late 2025 [1] [2] [3].
2. The sentences: documented prison terms, restitution and supervised release
Federal court records and Department of Justice press statements show concrete sentences ranging from multi‑year terms for fraud architects to large restitution orders: Matthew Onofrio was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, two years supervised release and ordered to pay $5,398,641 in restitution for a bank‑fraud scheme [5]; Abdimajid Mohamed Nur was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison followed by three years of supervised release for role in the Feeding Our Future scheme [6]; DOJ and press accounts also show other defendants receiving large financial obligations—reporting cites at least one defendant owing nearly $48 million in restitution and another facing very long potential maximums of decades in prison according to local media aggregation [8] [7].
3. Patterns in punishment and prosecutorial emphasis
The court outcomes show a pattern prosecutors emphasize: prison time for ringleaders and key organizers, restitution orders to recover loss, and supervised release after custody—typical federal fraud sentencing practice [5] [6]. Federal prosecutors have described the Minnesota investigations as sprawling and involving multiple program types (child nutrition, housing stabilization, Medicaid‑adjacent services), leading to separate indictments and sentences across different schemes rather than a single unified docket—this fragmentation helps explain divergent conviction counts reported by news outlets and political actors [2] [10].
4. Political framing, source agendas and limits of available reporting
Some sources carry explicit political framing: conservative outlets and a White House release frame the numbers as proof of a statewide “epidemic” and highlight higher tallies [4] [11], while other outlets focus on the prosecutorial timeline and specific DOJ statements that give more conservative counts [2] [3]. Official press releases from the U.S. Attorney’s Office provide the most reliable sentence details for named defendants [5] [6], but there is no single, up‑to‑the‑minute public ledger consolidating every plea, conviction, sentence and restitution order across all Minnesota‑related fraud probes since 2022 in the provided reporting—so any fixed numerical claim should be qualified by source and date [1] [2].
5. Bottom line: defensible answer based on available reporting
Using the available reporting, a defensible summary is: roughly 56–62 people have been convicted in Minnesota‑linked fraud prosecutions that began in 2022, with documented sentences including a 36‑month federal prison term plus substantial restitution in a bank‑fraud case (Matthew Onofrio) and a 120‑month (10‑year) prison term plus supervised release in a Feeding Our Future matter (Abdimajid Nur), alongside other prison terms, large restitution orders (including a reported near‑$48 million figure), and ongoing cases that will adjust totals over time [1] [5] [6] [8].