Day: September 17, 2010

New regulations on family reunification available for comment on Federal Register

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The long-awaited new regulations for the fraud-ridden (P-3) family reunification program of  the US State Department were published in the Federal Register on Sept. 8th.   Concerned citizens have 60 days to weigh in on whether the proposed (limited!) DNA testing will be enough to stem the tide of fraudulent claims for family reunification mostly from Africa.

We first reported the scandal here in August of 2008 after learning about it from the Wall Street Journal.

Almost a year ago we reported that the program that allowed as many as 80% of Somalis claiming to be “family,” but in fact not related at all, to enter the US illegally.  The State Department estimates that from 2003-2008, 36,000 Africans arrived fraudulently and it has no plans to determine who they are.

Again, see the Federal Register notice here.

Lewiston, ME: Professor implies that refugees financially benefit Lewiston

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Your tax dollars

Yes, that is correct.  Professor Catherine Besteman (with Ishmail Ahmed) says in a report (seeking to dispel rumors, she says) that federal grant money flowing into the Lewiston/Auburn area has positively benefited the community and offsets any expense the Somali refugee influx has cost Maine.  Hat tip:  Susan  [ The report is a pdf file so let me know if you would like a copy, or if someone finds a link, please send it.]

Besteman:

In other words, to date the refugee demographic has been economically beneficial to the Lewiston/Auburn area.

Professor Besteman, grant money does not grow on trees.  Any money flowing to Maine from the federal government comes from taxpayers in other states, so while it may not cost Lewiston, it costs the country!

I note that the professor is on the Board of advisors for the local Somali ECBO (Ethnic Community Based Organization).  ECBO’s as I have reported on many occasions are basically mini-ACORNs.  They are run with tax dollars, teach immigrants how to access ‘resources’ (welfare benefits), and then act as a political voice for their respective ethnic group.  See our whole category on ECBO’s here.

By the way, it is my observation that ECBO’s do not foster assimilation but act as divisive forces in communities.

I can’t find any record at Guidestar that this Somali ECBO exists.  I suspect their money is coming through the State of Maine Dept. of Health and Human Services (among other government sources) that gets federal ECBO funding here.  

It is my suggestion that folks concerned about tax dollars in Maine do some serious investigative digging into the documents and learn who is and who is not benefiting from the refugee influx to Maine.

New readers might want to visit this older post to understand how the secondary migration of Somalis to Maine began and why.

$4 million involved in food stamp fraud conviction in Columbus

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A reader sent me this story from Columbus, Ohio yesterday. What do you know, another Somali former refugee is convicted of food stamp fraud!  See a similar story I just posted less than three weeks ago from Michigan, here.  

From the Columbus Dispatch:

A federal jury returned eight guilty verdicts yesterday against a Somali immigrant involved in a $4 million food-stamp fraud scheme.

Shuceeb Geedi, 51, showed no emotion as bailiff Andy Quisumbing read the verdicts in U.S. District Court in Columbus. About 10 of Geedi’s friends and relatives remained silent.

After the verdicts, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Bosley said investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture saved taxpayers millions by stopping the fraud.

Geedi was released on his own recognizance. [What a joke, facing 80 years do you think this guy is going to hang around—ed].   A sentencing date has not been set. He could be sent to prison for 80 years.

He was found guilty on all charges – fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and theft – for exchanging food stamps and Women, Infants and Children program vouchers for cash and phone cards at two Columbus markets.

He and seven other men were indicted in January 2008 for the scheme, which involved four markets that catered to the Somali community and lasted from January 2002 to August 2006.

Federal prosecutors said Geedi played a key role as manager of two of the stores.

Geedi’s attorney argued that a culture and language gap kept him from knowing it was wrong!  What a crock of you know what.  This is one of dozens and dozens of similar stories I’ve come across in three years of Muslims (Africans, Pakistanis or Middle Easterners) involved in this massive fraud on the US taxpayer. 

The defense argued that a culture and language gap prevented Geedi from knowing his actions were wrong. A translator was at Geedi’s side throughout the trial.

I sure hope that in addition to these isolated raids (where the local media acts like theirs is an isolated case) the feds are looking into a wider scheme that encourages immigrants to set up such operations where you can be sure some of your taxpayer dollars are being sent abroad.  Then get this—AUTHORITIES DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO OWNS THIS STORE!

Defense attorney James D. Owen said prosecutors didn’t have enough proof to convict his client. Witnesses were even inconsistent about who owned and operated the stores, Owen said.

Another raid!

Just as I was working on this post, I see there is another raid of a convenience store, this time in St. Paul.  The article doesn’t tell us who owns and operates this store, but a video news account shows a man said to be the owner (who is obviously a Middle Easterner) leaving the store.   One neighbor said that the store did so much “business” with people taking in food stamps that she had to wait in line for half an hour to buy a candy bar.

Update September 18th***    Law enforcement must be on a roll!  Here felony charges for food stamp fraud filed against three more immigrant run businesses in Toledo this time. 

For more information:  Use our search function for ‘food stamp fraud’ for dozens more cases like this one.   If I had known this was such a widespread scam when I first discovered it occurring in my county seat in 2007, I would have made a whole category for the topic!