Minneapolis — Federal agents carried out multiple searches in Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in the Trump administration’s ongoing fraud investigation of publicly funded social programs for children, authorities said.
Details about possible crimes have not been released, although armed agents have been seen at child care centers in the Minneapolis area. KSTP-TV He said one of the crew had a battering ram.
The searches took place months after right-wing influencer Nick Shirley I posted a video He said members of the Somali community in Minnesota were running fake child care centers to collect federal benefits. It caught the attention of the administration and conservative activists, although inspectors said the centers were Works as expected.
Minnesota has been plagued by fraud: At least 65 people, many of them Somali-Americans, have been convicted of fraud. Shredding the federal program It was supposed to provide food for the children. The investigation began during the Biden administration.
Separately, a federal prosecutor said in December that up to $9 billion in federal money has supported 14 programs run by Minnesota since 2018. It may have been stolen.
Democratic government Tim Wallsfrom He was on the defensive On not doing enough to crack down on fraud, they welcomed the raids on Tuesday. The Minnesota child welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement “to hold bad actors accountable.”
“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information,” Walz said. “Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on them.”
The searches were conducted at daycares, businesses and some residences, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Several state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, participated in the search. There were at least two locations in Shirley’s video. Officers from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were removing boxes at some locations.
The Department of Homeland Security said: “The American people deserve to know how taxpayer funds have been misused. We will not leave a stone unturned,” also pointing to the cooperation of local and state authorities.
On social media, FBI Director Kash Patel mocked Walz for taking credit “as we root out the fraud that has plagued Minnesota under your watch.”
Jason Steck, an attorney representing the child care centers, said some of the targeted businesses are run by Somali immigrants. They were not his clients.
“A few child care centers, a few autism centers, a few health care agencies of some sort,” Steck said, adding that it appears to be a “private scam.”
The executive director of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, a nonprofit that serves children’s teachers, said the publicity is unpleasant.
“Most people are in business to do good business,” Candice Yates said. “You will come across people trying to take advantage of broken systems that need to be fixed.”
Walz ended his bid for a third term as governor in early January amid President Donald Trump’s continued focus on fraud allegations and the state’s Somali community. Trump used it Inhuman speechdescribing Somali immigrants as “trash” and “low IQ.”
Tensions between Walz and the federal government subsequently escalated during an unusual period Immigration campaign Which led to Two people died Before it was Operation Metro Surge Reduced in February.
In February, Vice President J.D. Vance said the Gov It will pause $243 million in Medicaid funding for Minnesota Due to fraud concerns. The state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit in response, warning that it might have to cut health care for low-income families, but a judge on April 6 refused to grant a restraining order.
Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal government on fraud investigations, but that does not mean the matter will end. Migration boom It made it more difficult.
“The people of Minnesota have been targeted for political retaliation on an unparalleled scale,” he said at the time.
Walz touched on the inspections Tuesday night when he delivered his final State of the State address, noting that he promised to devote his energies to fighting fraud in January when Withdrew from the governor’s race.
“I said the responsibility lies with me,” he said at a joint meeting of the state House of Representatives and Senate. “Some of you will take this as an open invitation to play politics with every fraud incident that happens here in Minnesota, although I have to tell you, the statistics show it happens more in red states than here. But so be it.”
The governor said if lawmakers take fraud seriously, they should help him by passing the law Anti-fraud package It was unveiled in February.
But Republican legislative leaders then said that Walz failed during his speech to take sufficient responsibility for fraud during his tenure.
“While the governor hinted at taking responsibility, he immediately turned to pointing the finger — to pointing the finger at other states,” House GOP Leader Harry Niska told reporters.
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Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Steve Karnovsky in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Corey Williams and Ed White in Detroit contributed.