Minnesota Officials Ignored Warnings of Rampant Welfare Fraud as Early as 2019, Report Finds
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison were made aware of rampant fraud in the state’s social service programs as early as 2019, according to a new report from the House Oversight Committee that raises questions about why the state’s leadership failed to act sooner.
Read more Animal-Rights Activists Want Oregon to Make Hunting and Fishing a Crime
The committee estimates that the officials’ failure to act has cost taxpayers about $300 million in nutrition funds and up to $9 billion in Medicaid funds.
“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are responsible for one of the most stunning oversight failures this Committee has ever examined,” said committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky) in a statement about the .
The report is the culmination of the committee’s months-long investigation into Medicaid and food welfare fraud in the state, which involved testimony from several Minnesota officials.
The committee’s probe uncovered the systemic negligence of integrity measures, a failure by state officials to notice huge spikes in funding, and widespread pressure to avoid the appearance of racial discrimination.
The report alleges the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) failed to put in place proper accountability measures and to revoke funding when appropriate in the case of the highly publicized Feeding Our Future scandal, which stole hundreds of millions of pandemic-era relief funds.
The MDE failed to do its due diligence on several occasions, the report says, including by accepting self-attestation for reimbursement, conducting only virtual visits to food sites, and failing to notice the IRS’ revocation of nonprofit status from FOF in 2020.
Read more Xavier Becerra Advances to General Election in California Gubernatorial Race
The MDE had the authority to revoke funding from Feeding Our Future, but officials were apparently fearful of racial discrimination lawsuits and accusations. In an interview with the FBI, one MDE official reported that she was “warned not to do anything that would be considered targeting or discriminating against certain diverse communities.”
Many of the fraudsters have been members of Minnesota’s Somali community, including most of the individuals convicted in the Feeding Our Future scheme. Aimee Bock, the leader of FOF, accused the state of racism against Somalians prior to the charges.
The report also covers widespread Medicaid fraud, which the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) enabled. Former Commissioner Jodi Harpstead testified to Minnesota’s culture of internal pressure to spend the money that had been appropriated. The DHS also failed to follow federal regulations for Medicaid integrity.
Alongside the release of the report, the committee has sent a to Vice President JD Vance recommending a “thorough review” of all of Minnesota’s social services.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding have been suspended as a result of the fraud, which was first brought to the public’s attention last year.
The committee is also currently investigating claims of fraud and abuse in California and Ohio.
Read more How Decolonization Ideology Is Upending the Anthropology Field
