Federal prosecutors charged 12 people in Southern California with fraudulently collecting more than $10 million from government-funded childcare programs despite allegedly caring for few or no children at their licensed facilities.

The Department of Justice announced the charges Tuesday after authorities arrested 12 defendants and executed search warrants at a dozen San Diego-area homes purportedly operating as daycare facilities. The individuals are naturalized citizens who hail from Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.