A Kenyan national, 28-year-old Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh has been swept into America’s largest Covid-19 fraud scandal, accused of funnelling stolen funds into real estate back home.

U.S. prosecutors announced that Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh has been indicted for Conspiracy to Commit International Money Laundering.

He is the 74th defendant linked to the Feeding Our Future case, a massive fraud that siphoned off federal money meant to provide meals for children during the pandemic.

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

“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.”

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The brother’s empire

Prosecutors say Sheikh played a critical role in concealing money for his elder brother, Abdiaziz Farah, identified as the leader of the “Empire” group at the centre of the fraud.

Just weeks ago, Farah was sentenced to 28 years in prison for orchestrating the scam, and he still awaits sentencing in a separate juror bribery case.

Between 2020 and 2022, Abdiaziz Farah and his network allegedly stole more than Sh5.2 billion from the federal child nutrition programme.

The money, intended for feeding children in need, was instead laundered and shipped abroad.

Investigators claim Sheikh helped disguise the stolen funds through fake companies, bulk cash transfers, and property investments in Kenya.

Among the purchases linked to the scheme are a stake in a Kenyan real estate firm, an apartment block in Nairobi’s South C area near the National Park, and land in Mandera Town, bordering Somalia and Ethiopia.

Boasting about millions

Court documents detail how the brothers frequently exchanged text messages about their fortune. On 3 July 2021, Abdiaziz Farah texted Sheikh, “You are gonna be the richest 25 year old InshaAllah.” Sheikh replied, “I love you so much.”

Sheikh also shared photos of vast sums sent from the U.S. to Kenya:

 ▪ Sh17.9 million in cash in August 2021.

 ▪ Banker’s boxes packed with Sh34.9 million in December.

 ▪ Receipts for a Sh38.8 million transfer later that month.

 ▪ On 27 December 2021, he boasted that he had received Sh166 million in just days.

Ties to Minnesota

The indictment also names a family member referred to as Individual S.D., a naturalised American citizen who is Sheikh’s wife and the sister of Abdiaziz Farah’s spouse.

Prosecutors say fraud proceeds bought her a Sh74.6 million townhome in Burnsville, Minnesota, before she travelled to Nairobi to marry Sheikh in December 2021.

In June 2023, she petitioned for Sheikh’s immigration to the United States. But by November 2024, Sheikh also tried his luck in the Diversity Visa lottery, declaring on his application that he was unmarried.

FBI reaction

“The federal child nutrition program was designed to provide meals to children in need,” said FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge 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 Sh5.2 billion 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.”

The probe is being handled by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting alongside Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, while Craig Baune is managing the forfeiture of assets.

Sheikh, like all defendants, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.