MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As global fraud schemes evolve, law‑enforcement officials say the landscape of financial scams targeting U.S. government programs has shifted dramatically from the email‑based “419” advance‑fee frauds once associated with Nigerian criminal networks. The new scam revolves around the Somali American community and involves fraudulent misuse of welfare monies. Today, investigators are confronting a new wave of complex, domestically rooted schemes — including several high‑profile cases in Minnesota involving a small number of Somali‑American defendants.
Federal prosecutors stress that the recent Minnesota cases, which involve alleged fraud in childcare subsidies, housing stabilization services, and federally funded nutrition programs, are not the work of a coordinated ethnic criminal syndicate. Instead, they describe a patchwork of opportunistic actors exploiting weaknesses in state oversight systems.
Still, the involvement of some Somali‑American business owners has drawn national attention, prompting comparisons — often oversimplified — to earlier eras when Nigerian‑linked email scams dominated headlines. Experts say the comparison misses the point.
“Fraud adapts to whatever system is vulnerable,” said Mark Ellison, a former federal cybercrime analyst. “In the 1990s and early 2000s, email‑based advance‑fee scams were easy to run from overseas. Today, the biggest vulnerabilities are in domestic benefit programs, and the perpetrators reflect the communities closest to those systems. It’s not about nationality — it’s about opportunity.”
Community leaders in Minnesota warn that the renewed focus on Somali‑American defendants risks unfairly stigmatizing an entire population. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali diaspora in the United States, and many residents say they feel caught in the crossfire of political narratives surrounding the fraud cases.
“We condemn the fraud completely,” said Amina Warsame, director of a Minneapolis community coalition. “But we also reject the idea that this is somehow a ‘Somali scam.’ These are individuals making criminal choices, not a cultural pattern.”
Law‑enforcement officials echo that message, noting that fraud cases in other states have involved defendants from a wide range of backgrounds. What distinguishes the Minnesota cases, they say, is the scale of federal pandemic‑era funding and the rapid expansion of nonprofit networks that were insufficiently monitored.
As investigations continue, prosecutors expect additional charges. But experts caution against framing the trend as a replacement for the infamous Nigerian 419 schemes.
“Criminals change tactics,” Ellison said. “The nationality changes, the method changes, the target changes. What doesn’t change is the need for strong oversight and public awareness.”
A prominent U.S. attorney, Asukwo Mendie Archibong Esq., has condemned the fraudulent misuse of welfare monies in Minnesota and has implored the FBI to carry out further investigations and prosecute those involved.
