DOJ charges 47 people with stealing $250 million from pandemic program meant to provide meals to needy children
CNN
The Justice Department on Tuesday announced charges against 47 people accused of stealing $250 million from a federal program designed to provide meals for needy children during the pandemic.
According to the department, the scheme is the largest Covid-19-related fraud uncovered by investigators to date. The defendants are facing a range of charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and paying and receiving illegal kickbacks.
The defendants, prosecutors said, set up a network of shell companies connected to the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding our Future, to exploit the federal child nutrition program, which is designed to provide meals to children from low-income families. The program was expanded by Congress at the start of the pandemic to allow more organizations to participate.
The Department of Homeland Security said global hotel chain Hilton has launched a “coordinated campaign” to refuse service to agents by cancelling their room reservations in Minneapolis as the agency readies for escalated immigration enforcement there.
Critics of the US ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this weekend have regularly invoked President Donald Trump’s comments during the 2016 campaign.
The US is making plans to try to intercept a fleeing oil tanker that Russia has claimed ownership of, according to four people familiar with the matter, setting up a possible confrontation between Washington and the Kremlin over the vessel’s fate.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to speak on his political future today as he faces criticism over fraud allegations against day care centers.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to abandon his bid for a third term has suddenly sparked one of the biggest political questions of the new year: Will Sen. Amy Klobuchar run for governor?
President Donald Trump’s second term entered a new phase over the weekend, with the administration launching a successful operation in Venezuela that captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will hold a news conference after announcing he won’t seek a third term. Follow here for live updates.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the Pentagon is taking administrative action to punish Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, by cutting his retirement pay for participating in a video where he and other Democratic lawmakers reminded US service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is reconsidering whether to seek reelection to a third term and is expected to announce his decision at a Monday news conference, two senior Democrats told CNN, as criticism over a welfare-fraud scandal in his state intensifies.
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