'Easier Than Pirating Container Ships ', Said Abdi - How Somalis Conned The Entire State Of Minnesota

Mohammed Farah had been pirating Western shipping for years.  He learned how to maneuver his country craft outfitted with twin Mercury Marine 350 HP, fire AK-12s, the most powerful assault rifle on the market, outrun cargo ships, and climb aboard. 

He had begun as an apprentice to his uncle Abdi who had been a member of the LS-22 militia, the most powerful in Mogadishu, who had with his brothers run a profitable drug running operation through Djibouti, Egypt and on to Europe, but who turned to offshore pirating when the Liberian flag European vessels headed from Oman to Mombasa increased their traffic and, hewing to international law, remained unarmed. 

Furthermore, the navies of the United States and the European Community had very restrictive rules of engagement, and not anxious to get into naval military action, left it to insurance companies to underwrite the increasing risk.  While this was a tacit agreement to let Somali piracy continue unchecked, it was considered a win-win situation for all concerned. 

'Like sitting ducks', said Uncle Abdi to the young Farah as he took him out on his first engagement in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast.  'Like shooting fish in a barrel' he went on, showing off the English he learned while living in the United States in the large Somali community of Minneapolis. 

Farah and Abdi had the Maersk Athena in their sights, a container ship loaded with everything from computers to frozen foods, electronics, clothing, and machinery.  This particular ship was carrying a load of rare earth minerals mined in East Africa, stolen by Hutu gangs in eastern Congo, and transshipped to Oman and on to Mombasa, the African mainland and there to Western Europe - a circuitous route, but given the high value of the cargo, the extra mileage and diversions were worth the effort and the risk. 

The twin Mercuries were almost too much for the simple Somali boat, but with the well-known ingenuity of the African villager, and with counter-weights and balances, ballast, and a careful seating of the crew, the craft could easily overtake even the fastest container ship. 

The roar of the engines was almost too much for the young Farah and more than once he was almost pitched over the side, but he held his ground as the boat approached the Athena.  Once they got within range, Uncle Abdi and his crew began firing their weapons, more as an intimidating warning to the captain rather than with any damage or injury to the ship's crew.  They were well-armed and serious, the clatter of bullets on the foredeck announced, and following protocol, the Athena slowed and allowed the pirates to board. 

The ship was rerouted to Mogadishu where Farah, Abdi, and their mates were welcomed as conquering heroes with the prize ship of the Maersk fleet in their control.  Goats were roasted on the beach, women danced, children ran around the bonfires, and praises were given to Allah. 

This idyll was to be short-lived, however, for the rules of engagement were modified for both commercial shipping and naval warships. Israeli paramilitary forces were recruited and hired to provide security on board all Maersk shipping in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast, and European and American warships were given orders to patrol the waters and take decisive action if an act of piracy was occurring. 

'It was a good ride', said Abdi as he decided to 'hang up his spurs' and find other employment. Now, Somalis, having lived so long in a lawless, ungovernable country with few chances for legitimate enterprise, had learned and honed every trick in the book.  They had gone to Lagos to learn the art of credit card fraud, were tutored in Ponzi schemes, high-finance shell games, and the art of the scam in cities like Kinshasa and Nairobi and in the underworld of Paris and London. 

Stealing, conning, scamming, fraud, and electronic thievery became part of the Somali ethos.  There were no moral questions asked because the country had for so long been without any moral or ethical code, that the 'anything goes' philosophy was the only one in the canon. 

So it was natural that the Somali community in Minneapolis found ways and means to take municipal and state governments for a ride. The stage was set by a series of liberal governments at both municipal and state level which favored 'inclusivity' and 'diversity', and welcomed foreign newcomers to give spice and color to the largely Scandinavian heritage residents of the state. Understanding the impoverished life that Somali immigrants had in their mother country, Minnesota was particularly eager to give immigrants, legal and undocumented, a helping hand. 

As a result they handed out money to false front Somali daycare centers without a second look.  All it took was a correct submission of paperwork including addresses, business plans, and officers, and millions were allocated.  Under the assumption that investigation into the actual operation of these daycare centers might be considered racist and hostile, those few state employees who were concerned about the unsupervised flow of millions were told to back off. 

When Abdi and his nephew arrived in Minneapolis and were briefed on the possibilities of making tens of millions of dollars for nothing - a no risk, all reward opportunity - they jumped at the chance. Scamming the white fools in the statehouse and city hall would be a pleasure. 

When they found that the government was willing to grant millions of dollars a year for one false front, empty enterprise, they doubled and tripled the scam. Investigative reporters found 5-10 registered daycare centers at one location, nothing but a nameplate here and there, and as they said, 'Not one child's footprints in the snow'. 

Seeing an almost limitless opportunity, Farah and Abdi expanded their operation to so-called 'transportation centers', services for the aged and infirm providing transport to and from medical appointments and public transportation.  Since no one in government was looking, Farah and Abdi never bothered to buy any vehicles, cooked the books to show fictitious rides, and pocketed the money. 

A Lamborghini Countach was Abdi's first purchase and an Aventador for his nephew was second.  To avoid IRS and the SEC from questioning these purchases, Abdi used laundered money cashier's checks, a reasonable amount of cash, and high-value equities as security.  A few phone calls, and both Somalis had the rides they had always wanted. 

'There's a sucker born every minute', said the American circus entrepreneur and impresario, P.T. Barnum but there were never more than in the state of Minnesota.  The level of blatant ignorance, total naïveté, and unimaginable credulousness was something that even Barnum would have marveled at.  State and municipal officials, so besotted by the progressive woke agenda, the blind obeisance to people of color, the brainless assumption that immigrants only brought the wealth of diversity and the enterprise of hope, could do no right. For the Somalis it was like stealing candy from a baby.  

Of course it take two to tango and without the entrepreneurial genius of the Somalis, the largesse of the State of Minnesota would have been wasted in incidental programs; but as it was, the two danced beautifully together, and billions of dollars of taxpayer money was bilked by the canny Somalis. 

Thanks to the same viral woke infection that allowed such a massive fraud in the state, it wasn't hard for Farah and Abdi to get American citizenship.  Fast track approvals were given to the most needy, and the State of Minnesota guaranteed the neediness of all Somalis who had escaped hell on earth. 

With an equally canny understanding of how to finagle banking laws, Abdi managed to secure his millions in offshore accounts.  His Aruba holdings alone were valued at over $100 million. Just as he got out of pirating just in time, so was he able to stay one step ahead of the law in the childcare Minnesota fraud. 

Didn't he miss Somali, he was often asked; but his reply was simple.  'I love Somalia, but I love America more'.