By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 30 December 2025 - U.S. authorities are intensifying legal action aimed at seizing high-value properties in Kenya, allegedly purchased with proceeds from one of the largest Covid-related fraud schemes in American history.
Court filings in the United States reveal that investigators are targeting assets, including multi-million-shilling properties in Nairobi and luxury beachfront real estate on the Kenyan coast, believed to have been bought with funds siphoned from federal nutrition assistance programmes.
The total estimated fraud tied to these schemes is around Sh39 billion ($300 million).
The backdrop to these moves is the sprawling “Feeding Our Future” fraud case, a scheme that targeted the Federal Child Nutrition Programme in Minnesota.
The following individuals were charged, convicted or pleaded guilty in federal court for involvement in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, which misappropriated millions in funds meant to support child nutrition programs.
Principal Leaders and Convictions
1. Abdiaziz Shafii Farah – Scheme leader; convicted on numerous counts including wire fraud, money laundering and bribery and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
2. Abdimajid Mohamed Nur – Convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in fraud.
3. Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff – Convicted for his role in the multi-million dollar fraud.
4. Hayat Mohamed Nur – Convicted for participation in fraud activities. Mohamed Jama Ismail – Convicted on multiple counts related to the scheme.
Other Charged Defendants in U.S. Indictments, Charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and federal programs bribery.
1. Aimee Marie Bock – Founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, charged in connection with orchestrating the fraud.
2. Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh – Employee of Feeding Our Future, charged with fraud and laundering offences.
3. Salim Ahmed Said – Charged for role in fraudulent non-profit operations tied to the scheme.
4. Abdihakim Ali Ahmed – Charged for creating sites that received fraudulent program funds.
5. Abdikadir Ainanshe Mohamud – Charged with conspiracy and fraud for running fraudulent meal sites.
6. Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir & Asad Mohamed Abshir – Charged for running fraudulent distribution sites and laundering proceeds.
7. Hamdi Hussein Omar – Charged with wire fraud and money laundering tied to improper claims.
8. Abdirahman Mohamud Ahmed – Charged for participation in money laundering and fraud.
9. Qamar Ahmed Hassan – Charged with conspiracy and money laundering for fraudulent catering operations.
10. Sahra Mohamed Nur – Charged in connection with fraudulent meal site operations.
11. Abdiwahab Ahmed Mohamud – Charged for laundering proceeds and fraudulent claims.
More from Kenya
International Money Laundering Charge
1. Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh – A Kenyan national indicted in September 2025 for conspiracy to commit international money laundering, accused of helping his brother (Abdiaziz Farah) launder fraud proceeds and purchase property in Kenya.
Federal prosecutors say the fraud involved the fabrication of records for meal sites that purportedly served vulnerable children during the pandemic but, in reality, delivered few or no meals.
As oversight was relaxed to maintain service delivery during Covid-19 lockdowns, investigators say the defendants exploited the system, creating shell companies, falsifying attendance logs and submitting bogus invoices to federal authorities.
Among the key figures convicted in the U.S. is Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, a Minnesota resident sentenced to 28 years in prison for his role in orchestrating the scheme. Farah was ordered to pay billions in restitution.
Government court documents identify multiple properties abroad as part of the proceeds investigators are now seeking to seize, with several located in Kenya.
Court records include details of luxury real estate acquisitions using fraud proceeds:
- An apartment building in Nairobi’s South C neighbourhood, near the National Park.
- The Karibu Palms Resort in Diani Beach, purchased with millions wired from the U.S. fraud scheme.
One of the defendants, Liban Yasin Alishire, has already agreed to forfeit some properties, including the Diani resort and other assets in Nairobi, as part of a plea deal.
In a statement accompanying recent court filings, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described the fraud as an example of “breathtakingly elaborate” criminal conduct that exploited emergency relief programmes intended to feed vulnerable children.
The DOJ noted that due to jurisdictional limitations, some properties abroad remain outside the immediate reach of U.S. law enforcement, complicating forfeiture efforts.
Officials have emphasised that international cooperation, including asset recovery agreements with foreign governments, is critical to bringing forfeited proceeds back into U.S. courts for restitution to victims.
The unfolding development has drawn attention within Kenya’s financial and legal circles, particularly as analysts assess how international fraud networks can affect the domestic real estate market.
Legal and compliance experts say that wealthy properties in Nairobi and along the coast are increasingly attractive targets for laundering illicit funds due to their high value and potential for opaque ownership structures.
“There needs to be more robust due diligence on property transfers and source of funds verification here in Kenya,” said a Nairobi-based compliance attorney who asked not to be named. “This case underscores how easily international fraud proceeds can be absorbed into local real estate if safeguards are weak.”
Separately, fraud targeting both diaspora and domestic investors has been on the rise in Kenya’s real estate sector, though not directly tied to this U.S. scheme. Critics say unscrupulous developers and agents have taken advantage of lax oversight to defraud buyers, especially Kenyans living abroad, with abandoned projects, bogus land offers and outright scams.
A 2025 report by real estate analysts noted that at least 21 per cent of fraud cases in property deals involved unlicensed brokers, fictitious agents or misleading listings, prompting calls for stronger regulation and more transparent verification systems.
The U.S. asset forfeiture process could take months or even years to unfold, especially where foreign jurisdictions are involved.
Kenyan authorities may be asked to assist through mutual legal assistance treaties or civil forfeiture proceedings if the DOJ pursues them under international legal frameworks.
Meanwhile, the case highlights the transnational nature of modern financial crime, prompting renewed calls for cooperation between Kenyan and U.S. law enforcement to ensure illicit funds are identified, frozen and repatriated where possible.
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