10 more charged in food-program fraud

Ten more people have been charged in connection with a scheme to steal over

$250 million from a federal program designed to provide meals to low-income children in Minnesota, federal prosecutors said Monday.

A total of 60 people have now been charged in the conspiracy, in which authorities say a group of people took advantage of rules that were relaxed during the covid-19 pandemic and falsely claimed they were providing food to children. Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said in September that the conspiracy was the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme to date.

On Monday, Luger said six people have pleaded guilty so far.

At the center of the plot, the indictments said, was a Minnesota nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors said just a fraction of the money went toward feeding children, with the rest laundered through shell companies and spent on property, luxury cars and travel.

The money came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with oversight from state governments.