Minnesota Attorney General files 23 lawsuits to shut down fraudulent nonprofits

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The State of Minnesota is suing 23 nonprofit corporations it says were created or revived to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program, primarily by acting as fraudulent “sites” tasked to administer meals to children in need.

State Attorney General Keith Ellison says a majority of the entities were created or revived by individuals indicted under federal criminal laws for their roles in perpetrating fraud. Ellison says an independent civil investigation conducted by the Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office revealed the nonprofits were all created or revived around the start of the pandemic to capitalize on the Federal Child Nutrition Program, did not appear to have legitimate nonprofit activities on site, showed evidence of misuse in bank records when located, were abandoned or gave false addresses, failed to comply with state and federal reporting requirements that would have allowed regulators to detect the fraud, and failed to comply with the Attorney General’s investigation — all providing grounds to shut the organizations down under Minnesota’s civil nonprofit corporation laws.

“Nonprofits are supposed to benefit the public — not defraud it,” says Ellison. “Most nonprofits work hard and do good work to help the people of Minnesota — but not these sham organizations. I am seeking to permanently shut down these sham nonprofits so they can’t be revived to defraud the public again.”

The complaints were filed in the counties of Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Stearns, and Rice, but the Attorney General will shortly file a motion to consolidate them all in Hennepin County, where complaints were filed against 16 of the 23 nonprofit corporations. The nonprofit defendants are: