SHOCKING: FBI & DEA Raid Somali Family Network — 5 Family Members, 1M Fentanyl | US Military

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Operation Broken Promise: How Federal Corruption Fueled America’s Largest Fentanyl Cartel

Introduction

The safety net is supposed to catch those who fall. But in the spring of 2025, federal agents discovered that America’s social safety net had been weaponized—not to help the vulnerable, but to funnel millions in taxpayer dollars into the hands of a drug kingpin. What began as a celebrated refugee success story ended in the largest federal corruption and drug trafficking case in modern history, with members of Congress, federal officials, and a network of Somali-American families at its center.

This is the story of Operation Broken Promise—the investigation, the betrayal, and the human cost of a system corrupted from the top down.

I. The Raid

On the morning of April 15, 2025, FBI and DEA agents executed 67 simultaneous raids across Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. Their primary target: Dr. Ahmed Bashir Muhammad, age 52, director of the Minnesota Refugee Economic Development Agency (MREDA). Over nine years, MREDA had received $480 million in federal funding, tasked with helping refugees build businesses and achieve self-sufficiency.

Inside Muhammad’s office, warehouses, and the homes of 14 federal officials, agents found over 1 million lethal doses of fentanyl and $89 million in cash. The evidence was overwhelming: federal subsidy programs had been weaponized to fund the largest drug cartel operation in the Midwest.

This wasn’t fraud hidden from the government. This was federal officials knowingly funneling taxpayer money to a drug kingpin and taking bribes to look the other way. The conspiracy reached into Congress itself.

II. The Rise of Ahmed Muhammad

Ahmed Bashir Muhammad arrived in Minnesota as a refugee in 2001. By 2017, he was a celebrated success story—a PhD in economics from the University of Minnesota, former World Bank consultant, adviser to three governors on refugee policy, and a witness before the Senate Committee on Immigration in 2019. In 2021, he won “Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year” from the Small Business Administration.

In 2017, Muhammad founded MREDA, a public-private partnership receiving federal grants to help refugees start businesses. The pitch was beautiful: refugees fleeing war and persecution would receive microloans, business training, and mentorship. They’d open restaurants, shops, service businesses. They’d achieve the American dream.

Federal funding poured in: $480 million over nine years from the SBA, Department of Health and Human Services, State Department, and USAID. MREDA claimed to have helped 3,400 refugee families start 2,100 businesses across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Muhammad became a hero, featured in national media, praised by politicians, invited to White House events.

III. The Audit That Changed Everything

On April 8, 2025, an accountant named Sarah Chen was conducting a routine audit of MREDA’s loan portfolio for the SBA Office of Inspector General. She began calling businesses listed as loan recipients.

The first call went to Moadishu Market, a grocery store in South Minneapolis. Records showed a $45,000 loan dispersed in 2022.

“We never got a loan,” the owner replied. “We opened with family money. Who is MREDA?”

Chen called a second business. Same answer. Third business: “We applied, but were rejected. Never got money.”

By the end of the day, Chen had called 47 businesses from MREDA’s portfolio. Only 12 had actually received loans. Thirty-five businesses either didn’t exist, had never applied, or were rejected but listed as funded. Chen calculated $1.33 million in phantom loans in one small sample.

She escalated to her supervisor. By 2:34 a.m. on April 9, federal investigators were reviewing MREDA’s entire nine-year portfolio. What they found shocked even veteran fraud investigators.

Of 2,100 claimed funded businesses, only 847 actually received loans. The remaining 1,253 were phantom—fake businesses, rejected applicants, or identity theft victims.

Total federal funding received: $480 million
Legitimate loans dispersed: $127 million
Stolen and diverted funds: $353 million

But where did the $353 million go?

IV. Following the Money

Investigators traced wire transfers, cash withdrawals, and shell company movements. The money trail led to $240 million in offshore accounts controlled by Ahmed Muhammad, $67 million in cash bribes to federal officials, $46 million in luxury purchases—real estate, vehicles, art.

The most shocking discovery: DEA financial intelligence revealed Muhammad’s offshore accounts had sent $127 million in wire transfers to known drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, Kenya, and Afghanistan.

The Refugee Economic Development Agency wasn’t helping refugees. It was funding drug cartels.

The SBA Office of Inspector General called the FBI: “We have massive fraud, but it’s worse. We think federal officials are complicit and the money is going to drug traffickers.”

V. The Task Force

On April 10, 2025, FBI Deputy Director Steven Carter assembled an unprecedented joint task force:

FBI: 140 agents (Minneapolis & DC)
DEA: 89 agents
SBA Inspector General: 47 investigators
IRS Criminal Investigation: 34 agents
Secret Service Financial Crimes: 23 agents

Total: 333 federal personnel.

Carter pulled up Muhammad’s photo. “Dr. Ahmed Bashir Muhammad, refugee success story, PhD economist, federal contractor, and possibly the most sophisticated criminal we’ve ever encountered.”

Over nine years, his organization received $480 million in federal grants. Only 40% went to actual loans. The other 60%, $353 million, was diverted.

Wire transfer records showed $127 million went to accounts controlled by the Sinaloa cartel, CJNG, and East African drug networks. Muhammad wasn’t just stealing federal money—he was using taxpayer funds to finance drug trafficking.

Next slide: photos of federal officials. “Here’s what makes this unprecedented. We have evidence that 14 federal officials knew about the fraud and took bribes to approve continued funding.”
Congressman Marcus Webb, House Appropriations Committee.
Senator David Chen, Senate Small Business Committee.
Elizabeth Torres, SBA Deputy Administrator.
James Mitchell, HHS Deputy Director for Refugee Services.
Eleven other federal officials—program officers, grant administrators, auditors.

These officials received a combined $67 million in bribes over nine years. They approved MREDA’s funding requests despite red flags. They blocked audits. They buried complaints. They enabled this.

“This isn’t just fraud,” Carter said. “This is systemic corruption of federal agencies, congressmen taking bribes, cabinet-level officials protecting a drug operation. The DEA believes Ahmed is connected to fentanyl distribution responsible for 340+ overdose deaths in the Midwest.”

VI. The Drug Network

The investigation uncovered a sophisticated drug network, built on federal funds and family connections.

The Importation
Nineteen months earlier, the investigation began with a customs seizure at the Port of Los Angeles. On June 14, 2024, CBP officers inspected a container from Kenya. The manifest listed textiles and spices, but X-ray scans revealed anomalies. Inside, bags of ground cumin concealed 47 kg of fentanyl powder, vacuum-sealed.

The shipment was addressed to Basher Global Imports, Minneapolis. Owner: Hassan Bashir, licensed import-export business since 2009. No prior violations. Respected businessman.

DEA contacted Hassan. He claimed ignorance, blaming corrupt suppliers in Kenya. Documentation appeared legitimate, but Special Agent Rachel Foster began monitoring Basher Global Imports. Over the next 18 months, 23 more shipments arrived from Kenya. Three contained hidden fentanyl—total seized: 89 kg.

Hassan kept claiming innocence, providing perfect paper trails. But Foster suspected deeper involvement.

Processing and Distribution
With a warrant for Hassan’s business records, Foster’s team seized computers, phones, and financial documents. Forensic analysts uncovered a seven-year revenue of $340 million—far exceeding what a small import-export business should generate.

Wire transfers revealed payments from shell companies in Dubai ($89 million), offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands ($67 million), and cash deposits under $10,000 ($47 million). Legitimate business income: $137 million; inflated invoicing: $340 million over seven years.

The money flowed outward—$127 million to family members for real estate, restaurants, nonprofits, and community centers. The entire family was involved.

Encrypted messages revealed the system:

Importation: Fentanyl hidden inside legitimate goods, shipped to Minneapolis.
Processing: Powder processed at Omar Basher’s warehouse, pressed into pills resembling Xanax, Percocet, Adderall. Estimated production: 50,000 pills per week.
Packaging: Pills packaged at Akmed’s restaurant kitchens after hours.
Distribution: Pills distributed through Jamal’s community center, youth workers selling to students, young adults, and desperate people. The network spanned 14 states.
Money Laundering: Cash deposited as import payments from shell companies, distributed as business investments or charitable donations.

Hale Lima’s nonprofit received $4.7 million in donations—much of it drug money.

Foster found references to the Northern Route, Chicago Connection, and the National Network. The Basher family was part of a nationwide network, using immigrant communities as cover. The supply chain linked back to a cartel in Mexico, trans-shipped through Kenya to avoid suspicion.

VII. The Scope Widens

Foster briefed FBI and DEA leadership: “The Basher family is part of something bigger. If we only arrest them, the network survives.”

Federal prosecutors authorized 47 arrest warrants and 29 search warrants targeting the Bashir family and known associates. The raid was set for January 23 at 5:00 a.m.

April 15, 2025, 4:47 a.m.
Minneapolis, Ahmed Muhammad’s estate in Wayzata—a modern mansion, private dock, Tesla and Mercedes in the driveway. A palace built with stolen federal subsidies.

67 FBI agents surrounded the property. Agents breached the door. Muhammad was in his home office, burning documents. He was arrested for wire fraud, money laundering, bribery of public officials, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

Inside the house: $23.7 million in cash hidden in walls, safes, and storage rooms. Financial records documenting everything—phantom loans, wire transfers to cartels, bribe payments, communications with drug suppliers, encrypted messages, lists of bribed officials, spreadsheets tracking payments to congressmen, senators, and agency administrators.

VIII. The Fallout

The raids continued:

MREDA Headquarters: $8.9 million in cash, complete fraud records, phantom loans, fake businesses.
Warehouses: Three locations hit. Brooklyn Park—340 kg of fentanyl, pill pressing equipment, $14.7 million in cash. Burnsville—drug packaging operation, 890,000 pills ready for distribution, ledgers showing sales records. Maple Grove—127 kg of fentanyl powder, money counting machines, $19.2 million in cash.
Federal Officials: Congressman Marcus Webb arrested at home, $8.9 million in cash found. Senator David Chen arrested at his Senate office, documents showing real estate purchases funded by Muhammad. Elizabeth Torres (SBA) arrested, $6.7 million in cash found. James Mitchell (HHS) arrested at his Florida beachfront home, $4.7 million paid in cash on a $180,000 salary; wire transfers from Muhammad’s offshore accounts.

Eleven other officials arrested across the country—SBA grant officers, HHS administrators, State Department officials, USAID directors. All had received bribes, all enabled Muhammad’s operation.

By 10:00 a.m., the scope was catastrophic:

67 arrests: Muhammad, 14 federal officials (including two members of Congress), 23 MREDA staff and associates, 29 drug distributors and cartel affiliates.
43 locations raided: MREDA offices, warehouses, federal officials’ homes and offices, distribution hubs.
Over 1 million lethal doses of fentanyl seized, $89 million in cash seized, $480 million in fraudulent subsidies documented.
$67 million in bribes to officials, $127 million sent to drug cartels.

IX. The Human Cost

When investigators finished their analysis, the magnitude of the betrayal was unprecedented. This wasn’t criminals exploiting a system. This was the system itself corrupted.

Financial scale:

Federal subsidies received: $480 million
Drug sales revenue: $120–180 million
Estimated total: $600–660 million

Money out:

Legitimate refugee loans: $127 million (27%)
Drug purchases from cartels: $127 million (26%)
Bribes to officials: $67 million (14%)
Personal wealth: $329 million (55%+)

The federal government gave Muhammad $480 million to help refugees. He used $127 million to buy fentanyl and paid officials $67 million to keep the scheme going.

Victims

DEA traced fentanyl from Muhammad’s operation to 340 overdose deaths in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas between 2020 and 2025. Estimated total deaths: 800–1,200 over six years.

Emily Rodriguez, 19, University of Minnesota student, died from a pill she thought was Adderall. Her mother: “Someone used my tax dollars to buy the drug that killed my daughter. How do I live with that?”

Marcus Webb, 24, military veteran, returned from Afghanistan with PTSD, became addicted, bought pills on the street—fentanyl from Muhammad’s network. His father: “My son survived Afghanistan, but he couldn’t survive a federal contractor’s greed.”

Sarah Chen, 16, high school sophomore, took a pill at a party, thought it was Xanax, died instantly. Her mother: “If the federal government had done its job, Sarah would be alive.”

Refugees Betrayed

847 refugee families received legitimate loans. But when MREDA was shut down, their businesses and reputations were investigated. 1,253 refugees had their identities stolen to create phantom loans. Real people suddenly listed as recipients for businesses they never opened, suspected of fraud.

Hassan Omar, Somali refugee: “I thought MREDA would help me. Instead, Ahmed stole my name to commit crimes. Now federal agents think I’m involved. I’m not. I’m just a victim.”

X. Systemic Corruption

The most shocking element was federal officials’ complicity. Fourteen took $67 million in bribes. Two were members of Congress, one a deputy administrator confirmed by the Senate. They knew Muhammad was committing fraud and protected him.

On April 19, Attorney General Samantha Price held a press conference with FBI Director Thomas Gray and DEA Administrator Lisa Martinez.

Price’s voice shook: “Four days ago, we arrested Dr. Ahmed Muhammad and 66 accomplices in the largest federal corruption case in modern history. Dr. Muhammad received $480 million in federal subsidies to help refugees start businesses. Instead, he created phantom businesses, stole the money, and used $127 million to buy fentanyl from Mexican cartels. We’ve linked his operation to at least 340 deaths.”

“But Dr. Muhammad didn’t act alone. He bribed 14 federal officials, including two members of Congress, with $67 million. These officials approved his funding, blocked audits, silenced whistleblowers. They knew what he was doing, and they helped him do it.”

Behind her, photos displayed: Muhammad in handcuffs, Congressman Webb being arrested, mountains of cash, bodies covered by sheets in morgues.

“This is not just a fraud case. This is a betrayal of public trust at the highest levels.”

Marcus Johnson, a MREDA employee who tried to expose the corruption, was murdered. “How many others stayed silent out of fear?” Price asked.

XI. The Trials

The trials began in July 2025. Ahmed Muhammad sat in federal court, evidence overwhelming: $353 million in documented fraud, $127 million in traced payments to cartels, $67 million in bribes, communications discussing drug distribution, testimony from 47 cooperating witnesses.

Muhammad’s defense: “I created jobs. I helped refugees. The federal government approved everything I did.”

The prosecution called Emily Rodriguez’s mother. “Your business development killed my daughter. You sold her the pill that stopped her heart. And you did it with money the government gave you to help people.”

Marcus Webb’s father testified: “My son served in Afghanistan. You, a refugee we welcomed, betrayed him. You sold him poison with taxpayer money.”

After 22 days of testimony, the jury deliberated for nine hours. Guilty on all 234 counts.

September 11, 2025—sentencing day:

Ahmed Bashir Muhammad: Life in prison without parole plus 840 years
Congressman Marcus Webb: 47 years in federal prison
Senator David Chen: 52 years
Elizabeth Torres (SBA): 40 years
James Mitchell (HHS): 45 years
Eleven other federal officials: 20–38 years
23 MREDA staff: 15–35 years
29 drug distributors: 25–60 years

As guards led Muhammad away, he turned to the judge: “The federal government made me rich. They approved every grant. They never asked questions.”

The judge’s response: “The federal government trusted you and you weaponized that trust to kill Americans.”

XII. National Fallout and Reform

The fallout extended far beyond the courtroom. All federal refugee and small business programs were suspended for six months while investigators audited them. Legitimate refugee organizations saw their funding frozen. Real businesses couldn’t get loans. Actual refugees couldn’t access services. The entire system was paralyzed because one man corrupted it.

Congress passed the Federal Grant Accountability and Transparency Act of 2025:

Real-time financial monitoring of all federal grant recipients
Quarterly site visits and beneficiary verification—photos, biometrics
Whistleblower protections with mandatory investigations
Criminal penalties for officials who accept bribes or suppress fraud reports
15-year mandatory minimum for corruption involving drugs or violence
$2 billion for oversight and enforcement

But the reforms came too late for the 340 to 1,200 who died.

XIII. The Human Toll

Emily Rodriguez’s mother visits her daughter’s grave weekly. “Emily would have been 21 now, graduating college. Someone used my tax dollars to buy the drug that killed my daughter. How do I live with that?”

Marcus Webb’s father still wears his son’s dog tags. “Marcus would have been 26, maybe married, maybe with children. My son survived Afghanistan, but he couldn’t survive a federal contractor’s greed.”

Sarah Chen’s mother started a nonprofit to educate teens about fentanyl. “Sarah would have been 18 now, senior year. I can’t bring Sarah back, but maybe I can save someone else.”

And 340 to 1,200 others never got their second chance.

XIV. Lessons and Warnings

If you work in federal grant programs, verify beneficiaries. Don’t just process paperwork. If you see suspicious activity, report it. Marcus Johnson tried. He was murdered. Don’t let his death be in vain.

If you’re a federal official, remember your oath. $67 million in bribes bought 14 officials. Was it worth it?

Federal fraud hotline: 1-800-HSTPs
FBI corruption hotline: 1-800-CALFB
One call can expose corruption. One report can save lives.

Muhammad thought federal oversight was weak for nine years. He was right. How many others are thinking the same thing right now?

Shield or silence? Which side do you stand on?

Every time we assume federal approval means legitimate, another Ahmed Muhammad gets $480 million to buy fentanyl. Every time we don’t verify grants are properly used, another Marcus Johnson is murdered for trying to expose fraud. Every time we allow officials to take bribes, another Emily Rodriguez dies from a pill bought with tax dollars.

Federal programs are only as trustworthy as the people who run them. Are we watching those people, or are we assuming someone else is?

The choice is ours. Muhammad built an empire on that assumption. Fourteen federal officials sold their integrity for bribes, and 340 to 1,200 people died.

How many more will die before we demand accountability?

The answer depends on whether we act.

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