Washington – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing next week on the issue. alleged fraud in Minnesota public assistance programsChairman James Comer made the announcement Wednesday.
The hearing is set for Jan. 7 and will include testimony from Minnesota GOP lawmakers who have been investigating government aid fraud, Comer said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, both Democrats, were also asked to testify at the second hearing on Feb. 10, said Comer, a Kentucky Republican.
“The U.S. Department of Justice is aggressively investigating, prosecuting and charging fraudsters who have stolen billions from taxpayers, and Congress has a responsibility to strictly oversee this robbery and enact stronger protections to prevent fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, as well as strong sanctions to hold criminals accountable,” Comer said in a statement.
House Oversight Committee investigation of allegations money laundering and fraud in Minnesota's public assistance programs. Earlier this month, Comer asked Walz and Ellison to turn over documents and communications about state programs to House investigators, and also demanded transcripts of interviews with state officials.
“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were either asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer money in Minnesota's social services programs,” Comer said. “American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money.”
Republican Rep. Walter Hudson, one of three Minnesota lawmakers set to testify before Congress next week, told CBS News Minnesota he hopes the hearing will provide “nuance and perspective” on the fraud issue.
“What we have seen over the past few days after Video by Nick Shirley “It's a lot of sensationalism from different angles and trying to turn this into a partisan boxing match when in fact just a few months ago this was a very bipartisan issue,” Hudson said.
More than 90 people face federal charges in what Minnesota's top prosecutor called “industrial fraud.” Prosecutor Joe Thompson said earlier this month that total fraud in Minnesota could reach $9 billion across 14 Medicaid programs that were considered a “high risk” of fraud. However, Walz and other government officials questioned this amount.
The scandal began when Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future accused of theft from the Federal Child Nutrition Program by falsely claiming to be distributing food during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 75 people charges were brought in a COVID-era fraud scheme, and at least 56 people have pleaded guilty.
Federal prosecutors have since uncovered alleged fraud schemes related to Minnesota's now-defunct Housing Stabilization Program and a state Medicaid-backed program that provides services to children with autism. National security agents also conducting investigations to kindergartens across the state in honor of a conservative YouTuber named Nick Shirley. posted the video online over the weekend, claiming that nearly a dozen centers receiving government money were not providing any services.
A CBS News analysis of the day care centers Shirley mentioned found that all but two have active licenses, according to state data, and state regulators have visited operating centers within the last six months. While the centers were cited for safety, cleanliness and other issues, no evidence of fraud was reported.
However, in response to the allegations, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that it frozen federal child care benefits for Minnesota.
President Trump condemned Minnesota leaders for their handling of programs and attacked Somali immigrantsclaiming that they had “robbed” the state. Many, but not all, accused of fraud are of Somali origin.
In response to the Trump administration's decision to withhold funding for child care in Minnesota, Walz accused the president of “politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.”
“This is Trump's long game,” he wrote on social media. “We have spent years fighting fraudsters. It's a serious problem, but that was his plan all along.”
