A massive US$300 million pandemic fraud scheme involving a US federal child nutrition program has led to significant sentences and exposed an intricate network with ties to Kenya. The orchestrator, Abdiaziz Farah, a Somali-American businessman, was sentenced to 28 years for exploiting the Feeding Our Future program.

• Abdiaziz Farah, who once lived in a Kenyan refugee camp, amassed over US$8 million from the fraud, spending it on luxury assets including a high-rise apartment in Nairobi, Kenya.
• The scheme included family members, with Farah’s brother, Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh, a Kenyan national, indicted for moving millions in stolen funds to Kenya, purchasing property in Nairobi’s South C and land in Mandera.
• The case highlighted concerns about Kenya’s vulnerability to money laundering, currently on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list.