Federal authorities are executing 22 search warrants in Minnesota as part of an ongoing fraud investigation Tuesday.
At least a dozen FBI and Homeland Security Investigation agents were at the Somali Senior Center in South Minneapolis carrying out boxes and loading up trucks with evidence, following a raid related to suspected Medicaid fraud.
This marks a significant development in Minnesota's broader effort to address the alleged misappropriation of government funds, following some previous high-profile scandals involving community-based providers.
Although investigators have now cleared out of many of the scenes across the metro, the focus now shifts to what evidence may have been seized and to determine if any formal charges will be filed.
Here's what is known so far:
Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has been on the defensive amid Trump administration claims that he hasn't done enough to root out fraud, welcomed the raids. The state child welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement.
“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” Walz said.
Tensions between Minnesota officials and the federal government were high during an extraordinary immigration crackdown that led to the deaths of two people before the operation was eased in February. In fact, Kash Patel, the Director of the FBI, replied to the message shared by Walz on social media claiming the state had nothing to do with their crackdown Tuesday.
Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today. But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship," Patel wrote.
Before that crackdown, the government had brought fraud charges against dozens of people, many of them Somali Americans, who were accused of fleecing a federal program that was meant to provide food to children. The investigation began during the Biden administration. More than 60 people have been convicted.
Investigators from various state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, were seen removing records during searches Tuesday.
“The American people deserve to know how their taxpayer money was abused. ... No stone will be left unturned,” Homeland Security said.
Watch: FBI and HSI agents removing evidence at a Somali Senior Center in South Minneapolis near 28th St. and Columbus Avenue as part of a wide-ranging probe into suspected Medicaid billing fraud.
— News Talk 830 WCCO (@wccoradio) April 28, 2026
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Reaction from the Somali community
Leaders in the Somali American Community in Minnesota are a bit on edge after the search warrants were executed Tuesday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the nature of the raids is not known, and so far have there have been no reports of arrests.
Jalani Hussein is head of the Council on American Islamic Relations Minnesota.
"As a community, we welcome any effort to go after fraud as long as that fraud is something that is, you know, not scapegoating an entire community," says Hussein.
Since 2021, 92 people have been charged in the schemes, with 67 convicted.
That includes five people who pleaded guilty last month for their roles in the Feeding Our Future scandal that exploited a federal nutrition program.
Jason Steck, an attorney who represents childcare centers, said the names of targeted businesses that were shared with him show they're operated by Somali immigrants.
“A few childcare centers, a few autism centers, a few healthcare agencies of some type," Steck said, adding that it appeared to be a "particular sweep for fraud.”
Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video in December that caught the attention of the Trump administration. He alleged that members of Minnesota's Somali community were running fake child care centers so they could collect federal subsidies, fueling suspicions on top of the food aid scandal. The claims were disproven by inspectors.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has used dehumanizing rhetoric, calling Somali immigrants “garbage” and “low IQ.”
In February, Vice President JD Vance said the government would temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families, but a judge on April 6 declined to grant a restraining order.
Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal government in fraud investigations, but that the immigration surge had made it more difficult.
“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” he said at the time.
