When US prosecutors unveiled charges against Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh, a 25-year-old Kenyan national, his name was added to a growing list of defendants in what has been called the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in America.
Sheikh, who resides in Nairobi, was indicted last Thursday in the District of Minnesota on one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
According to federal prosecutors, he was not among the masterminds siphoning millions of dollars from a pandemic programme meant to feed hungry children in Minnesota, but his role was to help launder and conceal the stolen funds abroad.
The broader scandal centres on Feeding Our Future , a non-profit that partnered with the US Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programme.
Prosecutors allege that between 2020 and 2022, insiders fraudulently claimed to serve meals to millions of low-income children, billing the government for food that never existed.
The scheme ballooned into one of the largest Covid-era frauds, with more than $250 million (Sh32.3 billion) misappropriated. At least 74 defendants have been charged so far.
Official documents indicate that Sheikh’s involvement stemmed from the fact that he is a younger brother-in-law to one of the ringleaders of the scandal, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah.
In August, Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay back nearly $48 million (Sh6.2 billion). He has a pending sentencing in another bribery case.
According to the indictment, Farah sent millions of dollars to Sheikh in Kenya, instructing him to buy land, invest in real estate companies, and hold assets on his behalf.
It is alleged that Sheikh helped Farah use fraud proceeds to purchase a 20 percent stake in a Kenyan real estate company.
According to prosecutors, they purchased an apartment building in the South C neighbourhood of Nairobi in April 2021.
Sheikh is also accused of helping Farah to use the proceeds to purchase land in Mandera, Kenya’s northeastern county bordering Somalia to the east.
“I share the outrage of my fellow Minnesotans at seeing money meant to feed hungry children converted into fortunes half a world away. Sheikh’s indictment shows yet again what we are up against. It is another window into the many fraud schemes that have seeped into every corner of our state,” said Acting US Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
“But we cannot shrink from confronting this crisis. We must come together as Minnesotans and demand that the frauds stop now. We must protect the future of our children and our state.”
In one message, Farah allegedly told Sheikh, “You are gonna be the richest 25-year-old InshaAllah.” Sheikh replied, “I love you so much.”
Prosecutors also allege that Sheikh received photos of bulk cash and transaction receipts, amounts ranging from $138,000 (Sh17.8 million) in cash to transfers exceeding $1.2 million (Sh154.8 million).
He also allegedly received large wire transfers, which Farah reported as “family support” and the source of the income as his “salary”.
“On August 29, 2021, Sheikh sent Abdiaziz Farah a photo of $138,000 (Sh17.8 million) in cash. On December 9, 2021, Sheikh sent Abdiaziz Farah a photo of banker’s boxes filled with $270,000 (Sh34.8 million) in cash that Farah sent to Sheikh,” part of the indictment states.
“On December 16, 2021, Sheikh sent Abdiaziz Farah photos of a receipt documenting a $300,000 (Sh38.7 million) money transfer from Abdiaziz Farah in Minneapolis to Sheikh in Kenya. On December 27, 2021, Sheikh sent a text message explaining that he had received $1,287,000 (Sh166 million) from Abdiaziz Farah in the prior days.”
According to official documents, Sheikh married an individual identified as SD in Nairobi on December 30, 2021.
SD, a naturalised US citizen who lives in Minnesota, is the sister of Farah's wife. She worked at one of the companies that sponsored fraud in the federal child nutrition programme and had moved into a $575,000 (Sh74.2 million) home in Minnesota purchased using proceeds of crime in October 2021.
On June 9, 2023, SD filed a petition to sponsor Sheikh’s immigration to and permanent residency in the US, identifying him as her husband.
Later on, in November 7, 2024, Sheikh applied to enter the 2026 Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery (green card lottery) but stated that he was unmarried.
“The federal child nutrition programme was designed to provide meals to children in need. According to the indictment, Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh saw this instead as an opportunity to steal from taxpayers and from hungry children. The FBI will use every resource to stop this shameful theft, and to ensure that taxpayer resources are used appropriately for their intended purpose,” said Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Minneapolis Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr.
The US Department of Justice clarified that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
However, if convicted, Sheikh faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, forfeiture of assets, and restitution orders.
The cases resulted from an investigation conducted by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigations, and the US Postal Inspection Service.
The turn of events means that international cooperation will be key in recovering the stolen funds, and seizure and forfeiture of illegally acquired assets.
