What if I were to tell you that you can take a Somali out of tribal Somalia, but you can’t take tribal Somalia out of the Somali? What I’m about to tell you should infuriate you. American taxpayers have been sending billions of dollars to Somalia’s Islamic Jihadist group, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujāhideen, simply known as “Al-Shabaab,” as well as tribal leaders and warlords.
According to federal counterterrorism sources and investigators, the fraudulently obtained funds were transferred to Somalia through informal money transfer networks known as “hawalas.”
Federal agencies, including the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation, are attempting to investigate and prosecute these cases. A former investigator noted that nearly all defendants in the high-profile cases come from the Minnesota Somali community and have “taken advantage of one of the most generous countries in the world” without remorse.
The money was siphoned from mainly three assistance programs that were created to provide services to the poor. Does it seem like history is repeating itself over and over again? It is always the same story. Lack of oversight of taxpayer money and fear of being labeled a racist when asking questions as to where the money is going?
Here are the three primary sources of the billions stolen:
“Feeding Our Future.”
This is the largest source where more than 70 individuals were charged in stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from a federal child nutrition program. Defendants created shell companies and submitted fraudulent claims for meals never served.
“Housing Stabilization Services.”
Minnesota’s HSS program was yet another source of the stealing of hundreds of millions of dollars through sham companies and the billing for services never provided.
“Autism Treatment Fraud.”
Another scheme to defraud Minnesota’s Medicaid autism treatment program of more millions. This involved recruiting children for services they didn’t need or receive, using kickbacks to parents, and allegedly using unqualified staff and non-existent centers.
If you are angry, you have a right to be. It is the same old story. American taxpayers are separated from their hard-earned money to provide for the poor and for immigrants without oversight, and when questions are asked as to where the money is going, people are labeled as racists and xenophobes, effectively shutting them down. America’s generosity is being wasted by politicians with a twisted sense of altruism and exploited by unscrupulous Americans and foreigners with an unrealistic sense of entitlement.
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