Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel both announced an increase in operations in Minnesota this week in the wake of videos posted by an independent journalist. The videos show him questioning operators of Somali-run day care centers which have received millions of dollars in government funding. However, his videos indicate there were no children at those day care facilities.
Noem posted on social media that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.” Patel said the intent was to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
Minnesota has been under the spotlight for years for Medicaid fraud, including a massive $300 million pandemic fraud case involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors said it was the country’s largest COVID-19 related fraud scam and that defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children.
In 2022, during President Joe Biden’s administration, 47 people were charged. The number of defendants has grown to 78 throughout the ongoing investigation.
So far, 57 people have been convicted, either because they pleaded guilty or lost at trial.
Most of the defendants are of Somali descent.
Numerous other fraud cases are being investigated, including new allegations focused on child care centers.
In news interviews and press releases over the summer, prosecutor Joe Thompson estimated the total loss from all fraud cases could exceed $1 billion. Earlier this month, a federal prosecutor alleged that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen.
Among those running schemes to get funds for child nutrition, housing services and autism programs, 82 of the 92 defendants are Somali Americans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.
The massive fraud scandal has occured during the tenure of Minnesota's Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, who is seeking a third term in office next year.
