Minneapolis — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal Homeland Security officials were investigating the fraud on Monday in Minneapolis.
The action comes after years of investigation that began with a $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding our future, For which 57 defendants were convicted in the state of Minnesota. Prosecutors said the organization was at the center of the largest organization in the country COVID-19 related fraud Fraud, when the defendants took advantage of a state-run and federally funded program intended to provide food to children.
A The federal prosecutor alleged Earlier in December, half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that have supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 were transferred. It may have been stolen. They added that most of the defendants are Americans of Somali origin.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said at the time that fraud would not be tolerated, and that his administration “will continue to work with federal partners to ensure the fraud is stopped and the fraudsters are caught.”
On Monday, Noem posted a video on the social media platform X showing DHS officers entering an unidentified business and questioning the person working behind the counter. Noem said officers are “conducting a wide-ranging investigation into child welfare and other rampant fraud.”
“The American people deserve answers about how taxpayer dollars are used and arrests when abuse is discovered,” US Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted.
The action comes a day after FBI Director Kash Patel said on Channel
Patel said previous fraud arrests in Minnesota were “just the tip of a very large iceberg.”
President Donald Trump criticized the Walz administration over… Fraud cases yet.
In recent weeks, Tensions were high Between state and federal enforcement in the area such as the Trump administration’s immigration campaign Focus on Somali community In Minneapolis-St. Bol district, the largest in the country.
Of those running schemes to obtain money for child nutrition, housing services and autism programs, 82 of the 92 defendants are Somali-Americans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
Walz’s spokeswoman, Claire Lancaster, said the governor had worked for years to “crack down on fraud” and was seeking more authority from the Legislature to crack down. Lancaster said Walz supported criminal prosecutions and took a number of other steps, including strengthening oversight and hiring an outside firm to review payments for high-risk programs.