Kenyan National Charged with International Money Laundering in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS – Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh, 28, a resident of Kenya, was indicted today with Conspiracy to Commit International Money Laundering for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  Sheikh is the 74^th defendant charged in this scheme, the largest Covid fraud scheme in the country.  

“I share the outrage of my fellow Minnesotans at seeing money meant to feed hungry children converted into fortunes half a world away,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.  “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.  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.”

Sheikh is a Kenyan national who helped launder and send abroad millions of dollars in Feeding Our Future fraud proceeds for his brother, Abdiaziz Farah.  Abdiaziz Farah was the leader of the “Empire” group and the lead defendant in the first Feeding Our Future trial.  Earlier this month, United States District Judge Nancy E. Brasel sentenced Abdiaziz Farah to 28 years in prison for his role in the fraud scheme.  Abdiaziz Farah is pending sentencing in the juror bribery case before United States District Judge David S. Doty. 

As set forth in the indictment, from 2020 to 2022, Abdiaziz Farah and others carried out a massive scheme to defraud the federal child nutrition program, a program designed to provide free meals to children in need.  Abdiaziz Farah and his co-conspirators obtained, misappropriated, and laundered more than $40 million in federal child nutrition program funds that were intended to serve hungry children. 

Defendant Ahmednaji Sheikh is a citizen and resident of Kenya.  Sheikh helped his brother, Abdiaziz Farah, launder and hide his fraud proceeds abroad, beyond the reach of federal law enforcement.  Abdiaziz Farah sent millions of dollars in fraud proceeds abroad, including to Sheikh.  Sheikh received those funds and helped his brother conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the fraud proceeds by investing them in Kenyan real estate through a series of sham corporate entities and bulk cash smuggling.  

Sheikh helped Abdiaziz Farah use fraud proceeds to purchase a 20 percent stake in a Kenyan real estate company.  For example, in April 2021, Abdiaziz Farah purchased an apartment building in the South C neighborhood of Nairobi, located adjacent to Nairobi National Park.  Defendant Sheikh also helped Abdiaziz Farah use proceeds to purchase land in Mandera Town, a city located in Kenya, on the boarder with Somalia and Ethiopia. 

Defendant Sheikh and Abdiaziz Farah regularly exchanged text message about their ill-gotten wealth.  For example, on July 3, 2021, Abdiaziz Farah texted Sheikh, “You are gonna be the richest 25 year old InshaAllah.”  Sheikh responded, “I love you so much.”  Abdiaziz Farah and Sheikh also exchanged messages and photos of the cash that was sent from Farah in the United States to Sheikh in Kenya.

For example, on August 29, 2021, Sheikh sent Abdiaziz Farah a photo of $138,000 in cash.

On December 9, 2021, Sheikh sent Abdiaziz Farah a photo of banker’s boxes filled with $270,000 in cash that Farah sent to Sheikh. 

On December 16, 2021, Sheikh sent Abdiaziz Farah photos of a receipt documenting a $300,000 money transfer from Abdiaziz Farah in Minneapolis to Sheikh in Kenya.  Abdiaziz Farah reported the transfer purpose as “family support” and the source of the income as his “salary.”

On December 27, 2021, Sheikh sent a text message explaining that he had received $1,287,000 from Abdiaziz Farah in the prior days.

As the indictment notes, Individual S.D. is Abdiaziz Farah’s sister-in-law; she is the sister of Abdiaziz Farah’s wife.  Individual S.D. is a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in Minnesota. She worked at one of the companies that sponsored Abdiaziz Farah’s fraudulent participation in the federal child nutrition program.

In October 2021, Abdiaziz Farah purchased a townhome in Burnsville, Minnesota for $575,000 using the proceeds of his fraud scheme.  Individual S.D. then moved into that townhome. 

On December 30, 2021, Sheikh married Individual S.D., in Nairobi, Kenya.  Individual S.D. flew to Nairobi on December 21, 2021 and returned to the United States on January 11, 2022. 

On June 9, 2023, Individual S.D. filed a petition for alien relative seeking to sponsor Sheikh’s immigration to and permanent residency in the United States.  On the petition, Individual S.D. identified Sheikh as her husband. 

On November 7, 2024, Sheikh applied to enter the 2026 Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery.  The Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the “green card lottery,” is an annual immigration lottery run by the United States Department of State.  The program seeks to diversify the immigrant population of the United States by selecting applicants from countries with low number of immigrants.  Each year, the State Department issues immigrant visas followed by permanent resident cards (or “green cards”) to approximately 55,000 winners of the green card lottery.  On his application, Sheikh stated that he was unmarried.

“The federal child nutrition program was designed to provide meals to children in need,” said FBI Minneapolis SAC Alvin M. Winston, Sr.  “According to the indictment, Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh saw this instead as an opportunity to steal from taxpayers and from hungry children.  The indictment alleges Sheikh and his co-conspirators laundered more than $40 million in federal funds.  Sheikh allegedly used the proceeds of his fraud to invest in an upper-class Kenyan real estate company.  The FBI will use every resource to stop this shameful theft, and to ensure that taxpayer resources are used appropriately for their intended purpose.”

These cases result from an investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting these cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.