Georgia Democrat quits amid federal fraud charge, allegedly pocketed $14K in COVID relief lies
A Democrat representative in the Georgia House has resigned her position, as she now faces a federal charge in connection with alleged COVID relief fraud.
On Monday, federal prosecutors filed charges against former state Rep. Karen Bennett, claiming she lied to secure nearly $14,000 in COVID funds.
Bennett also allegedly withheld that she was receiving $905 weekly from a church 'the entire time she was claiming PUA benefits.'
According to court documents, Bennett, who owned a physical therapy business called Metro Therapy, applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds in May 2020, stating that she had been unable to go to her place of employment since April 10 because of quarantine and other COVID-related restrictions.
She was subsequently approved.
Between March and August 2020, she then posted certifications claiming that, aside from the $300 she received each week for her political position in the Georgia General Assembly, she earned no other income, court documents said.
However, according to prosecutors, Bennett served in an administrative role at Metro Therapy and worked from a home office, allowing her to continue earning a paycheck "throughout the pandemic."
"She was able to continue working as usual from her home to support Metro Therapy throughout the pandemic, and the therapists who provided actual services to clients were able to continue their work after a brief disruption," prosecutors asserted in charging documents.
Bennett also allegedly withheld that she was receiving $905 weekly from a church "the entire time she was claiming PUA benefits," court documents said.
In all, Bennett raked in $13,940 in fraudulent PUA and other federal funds, prosecutors alleged. She has been charged with one count of making false statements.
RELATED: Georgia Democrat indicted for alleged pandemic relief fraud
In court Monday, Bennett waived the indictment, pled not guilty, and posted bail. The AP indicated that many federal defendants who waive their indictments often eventually plead guilty.
On Thursday, four days before charges were filed, Bennett officially resigned her seat representing District 94, which includes parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties. She was first elected in 2012.
Bennett also submitted a letter of resignation to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. The letter, dated December 30, made no mention of possible criminal charges and gave no explanation for her departure.
Instead she wrote: "I am proud of the work accomplished by the Georgia General Assembly when we came together to advance policies that strengthened our state and improved the lives of all Georgians. Serving in this capacity has truly been a labor of love and one that I will miss."
A spokesperson from Bennett's former assembly office declined a request for comment from Blaze News. Bennett did not respond to a request for comment from the Georgia Recorder, and her attorneys did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.
Bennett is now the second Georgia Democrat accused of fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds. Last month, state Rep. Sharon Henderson was arrested after she allegedly pocketed nearly $18,000, claiming she had been a substitute teacher in 2020, even as prosecutors say she had not worked in that capacity since 2018.
Henderson was charged with two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements — yet she still remains in office.
Just before Christmas, Henderson posted a note to social media, requesting donations to a crowdfunding account that she says will help her as she continues "seeking justice after recent events."
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Nonprofit fraudsters convicted for swiping COVID cash from hungry kids to bankroll lavish lifestyle
A federal jury convicted Feeding Our Future founder, Aimee Bock, and her co-defendant, Salim Ahmed Said, for their roles in a $250 million COVID fund fraud scheme.
Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit, joined a federally funded child nutrition program that provided meals for school activities. During the COVID-era, the U.S. Department of Agriculture eased participation rules, including allowing for-profit restaurants to join and permitting food distribution beyond education programs.
'Falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals.'
Workers with Feeding Our Future were tasked with recruiting individuals and entities to open sites in Minnesota to support the nutrition program. The nonprofit opened more than 250 sites throughout the state.
"These sites, created and operated by Bock, Said, and others, fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed. Bock and Said created and submitted false documentation, including fraudulent meal counts consisting of fake attendance rosters purporting to list the names and ages of the children receiving meals at the sites each day," read a press release from the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office.
"To accomplish their scheme, Bock and Said created dozens of shell companies to enroll in the program as food program sites, and to receive and launder the proceeds of their fraudulent scheme," it continued.
The jury found that Feeding Our Future fraudulently received and disbursed over $240 million in federal funding.
Instead of using the cash to feed hungry children, the organizations bought "luxury vehicles, residential and commercial real estate in Minnesota as well as property in Ohio and Kentucky, real estate in Kenya and Turkey, and to fund international travel."
Bock, 44, was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.
Said, 36, was convicted on 20 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
Bock and Said are being held without bail while they await sentencing.
Kenneth Udoibok, Bock's attorney, stated that they plan to appeal, claiming that the jury did not consider all of the evidence fairly.
Seventy defendants, including Bock and Said, have been charged in the case.
Lead prosecutor, Joe Thompson, stated that only $60 million of the $250 million has been recovered.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said, "Aimee Bock and Salim Said took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to carry out a massive fraud scheme that stole money meant to feed children."
"The defendants falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which they fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds. That money did not go to feed kids," Kirkpatrick continued. "Instead, it was used to fund their lavish lifestyles. Today's verdict sends a message to the community that fraud against the government will not be tolerated."
Governor Tim Walz (D), who has received criticism for not catching the egregious fraud sooner, stated, "We just need to make sure that we put up more firewalls, more security, more ability to make sure that these criminals aren't able to prey on this."
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Refugee awarded by Tim Walz pleads guilty to role in giant COVID-related fraud scheme
A refugee in Minnesota who once received an award from the Walz administration has pled guilty for participating in the largest known COVID-related scam in America.
On Friday, 43-year-old Ayan Farah Abukar, who lives just outside Minneapolis in Savage, Minnesota, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the Feeding Our Future case.
Following the COVID pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Education began allocating federal resources from the Federal Child Nutrition Program to the organizations Feeding Our Future and Partners in Quality Care, with the expectation that the organizations would use the money to help Minnesota children in need, the Sahan Journal explained.
Abukar became involved through the organization she founded, Action for East African People. As executive director, Abukar partnered Action for East African People with Feeding Our Future and another group identified only as Sponsor A in the DOJ press release.
'Here is Tim Walz & Ayan Abukar (Defendant #58) the architect of a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded program for hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic.'
Unfortunately, Abukar and her fellow co-defendants apparently did not follow the federal directives regarding the money. "The defendants exploited changes in the program intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than feed children, the defendants enriched themselves by fraudulently misappropriating millions of dollars in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds," the press release said.
According to the press release, Abukar spent two years boasting that she was feeding a total of 5,000 children a day in Bloomington, Minneapolis, Savage, and St. Paul, when in fact she was pocketing $5.7 million in misappropriated funds from the Child Nutrition Program and in turn paying a program employee $330,000 in kickbacks. She then used the money to splurge on luxury items like a 37-acre property in Minnesota and an aircraft in Kenya.
According to the Sahan Journal, Abukar is one of 70 defendants associated with the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme. Her sentencing hearing is yet to be scheduled.
Abukar and her work with Action for East African People have been well known among state leaders for years. In July 2021, Abukar even received an award at a ceremony for "outstanding refugees" held by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
The department claimed that Abukar and Action for East African People worked "to eliminate barriers to health care, employment, food, and housing for the East African community."
Mshale, an outlet based in Minneapolis and dedicated to the "African community," offered several photographs from the award ceremony, including one featuring failed vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Abukar. The Facebook page for Action for East African People, which no longer appears to be active, claimed that Abukar received an award for "her contributions to our state in entrepreneurship," according to a screenshot.
House Agriculture Committee Republicans likewise shared an apparent screenshot of Abukar posing alongside Walz. "Here is Tim Walz & Ayan Abukar (Defendant #58) the architect of a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded program for hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic," the message attending the photo read.
The committee claimed to have subpoenaed Walz, the state Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "demanding answers" regarding Abukar.
Gov. Walz's office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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Woman allegedly attempts to bribe juror on COVID fraud case with $120K — all 7 defendants arrested
A juror on a case of alleged COVID fraud in Minneapolis has been dismissed and all seven defendants arrested after a woman allegedly dropped off a bag full of cash in hopes of securing an acquittal.
Just before 9 p.m. on Sunday, a woman who appeared to be Somali, wearing a long dress and who spoke with an accent, rang the doorbell at the home of a 23-year-old woman impaneled on a jury for one of the largest COVID-funding fraud cases in the nation.
An inspection of the defendants' phones revealed that all 'have had access' to information that would have identified Juror 52.
The case involves seven defendants of East African descent accused of buying expensive property, jewelry, cars, and other luxury items with $41 million allocated to Feeding Our Future, an organization entrusted with providing food for underprivileged children. The case is part of a larger case involving 70 total defendants and $250 million in allegedly stolen funds. So far, 18 defendants have pled guilty, and $50 million has been recovered, the AP reported.
The Somali woman who arrived at the juror's home spoke with the juror's father-in-law and allegedly handed him a decorative bag filled with rolled up bills totaling $120,000. The woman even allegedly referred to the juror by her first name.
"This is for Juror 52," a note accompanying the bag allegedly said. "Tell her there will be another bag for her if she votes to acquit."
Juror 52 was not home at the time. When she returned, her father-in-law explained the situation, and the juror immediately called 911. The bag full of cash is now in the custody of the FBI.
"It is highly likely that someone with access to the juror’s personal information was conspiring with, at minimum, the woman who delivered the $120,000 bribe," read an affidavit.
In the courtroom on Monday morning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson explained the incident of alleged jury tampering without the jury present. "This is outrageous behavior. This is the stuff that happens in mob movies," he said. "It really strikes at the heart of this case."
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel was similarly concerned. She ordered the defendants' phones to be seized and the jury to be sequestered. "I don’t do it lightly, but I want to ensure a fair trial," she said.
Brasel also dismissed Juror 52 — described by the Sahan Journal as perhaps "the person of color on the jury" — and questioned the other jurors and alternates, asking them individually whether they had received similar attempted bribes. All replied in the negative.
Confident that the trial could proceed, Brasel then authorized the defense teams to make their closing arguments, which were followed by a rebuttal from the prosecution. The case was then given to the jury for deliberation.
Until Monday, the seven defendants — Abdiwahab Aftin, Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Nur, Hayat Nur, and Mukhtar Shariff — had been released on their own recognizance. But following the alleged bribe, Brasel overruled the objections of defense attorneys and had all the defendants rearrested. They will be kept in custody until the jury has reached a verdict.
An inspection of the defendants' phones revealed that all "have had access" to information that would have identified Juror 52, according to a search warrant affidavit.
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