Largest Covid-19-related fraud uncovered

It is being called the largest Covid-19-related fraud scheme uncovered to date.

Tuesday the Justice Department announced charges against 47-people who are accused of stealing $250 million from a federal program designed to provide meals for needy children during the pandemic.

According to officials, those charged in the scheme set up a network of shell companies connected to the Minnesota-based nonprofit "Feeding our Future."

Prosecutors say they claimed to feed thousands of children everyday, but they instead used more than a quarter of a billion dollars to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and to fund international trips.

The Department of Justice alleges that despite Feeding Our Future’s knowledge of their own fraudulent claims, they still submitted them to the Minnesota Department of Education, which administered and oversaw the federal program for the state.

The defendants now face a range of charges including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, as well as paying and receiving illegal kickbacks.