Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison shared a video Friday bragging about his takedown of scammers, shortly after reports surfaced that local Somalis had ripped off taxpayers out of billions of dollars.
Video, general on X detailed Ellison's efforts to combat student loan scams, fake utility calls and online scams this year, with critics reminding him of what they called Somalia's $9 billion elephant in the room. (RELATED: Somalis Reportedly Conning Blind Minnesotans and Allegedly Sending Some Funds to Islamic Terrorists)
“Scammers thought Minnesotans were easy targets. They were wrong,” Ellison said, following an image of Ellison standing in a boxing ring with the caption “Scam Stopper Showdown.”
Ellison continued, saying he's here to “step in quickly” and “shut them down” when scammers target the state's most vulnerable.
Ellison, who previously served as a U.S. Representative and vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he has fought these scammers, adding that “every Minnesotan deserves to be safe and honest when they answer the phone, open the mail or take out a loan.”
“If you're planning on scamming the people of Minnesota, think again. You're in the wrong ring,” the video concludes.
Scammers considered Minnesotans easy targets.
They were wrong.From student loan scams to fake utility calls, we're stopping them this year—and fast. pic.twitter.com/fNVqctMy8N
– Keith Ellison (@keithellison) December 19, 2025
However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson rated It was reported Thursday that nearly $9 billion has been siphoned from Minnesota's Medicaid programs since 2018, much of it from the state's Somali population.
Dozens of Somalis have been accused of the massive fraud, but whistleblowers say Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ellison were negligent in preventing the theft of funds. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer supposed in a letter to Ellison, the attorney general offered to help some criminals in exchange for political donations to his campaign. (RELATED: Defendant in Somalia Fraud Scandal Still Receives Millions from Minnesota, GOP Lawmaker Says)
The stolen money was allegedly spent on luxury goods or sent back to Somalia, where some taxpayer dollars ended up in the hands of the national government. terroristsaccording to a City Journal report.
Allison also said President Donald Trump's comments calling alleged Somali scammers “trash” reminded him of the “Third Reich.”
“The courage to publish this garbage,” Conservative communicator Steve Guest. commented in response to Ellison's video. Guest noted, “A $9 billion Medicaid fraud happened right under your nose. And the biggest funder of al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia is a Minnesota taxpayer.”
“You really thought this was a good time to post this, huh?” wrote Minnesota House GOP Executive Director Andrew Wagner.
you really thought now was the right time to post this, right? https://t.co/urmsrzhknt
— Andrew Wagner (@andrewwagner) December 19, 2025
“Keith Ellison is right. Minnesotans are not easy targets for scams,” historian, author and podcaster Mike Cote. added. “However, the Minnesota government is quite possibly the easiest target for fraud in modern American history.”
