Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison testify before the House Oversight Committee about alleged misuse of federal funds intended for social services and Medicaid programs.
Walz telling the committee that Operation Metro Surge negatively impacted ongoing fraud investigations.
He says the turmoil inside the U.S. Attorneys office isn't helping.
" If we partner together in this, our chance of defeating this fraud is, is that much higher, " he says, " But right now, it's stymied. There's no investigators over there, there's no US attorneys, the FBI has been decimated and it's very difficult."
Walz adds the Minnesota BCA is still investigating cases and will continue doing so.
The governor went on to say the state isn't immune to pitfalls when it comes to fraud, but that state leaders are committed to fixing the problem.
" Although Minnesota's programs have overwhelmingly achieved their intended purposes they're not immune from fraud," says Walz " But, let me be clear in Minnesota if you defraud public programs, if you steal taxpayer money, we'll find you, we'll prosecute you, we'll convict you, and we'll throw you in jail."
Republican James Comer who chairs the oversight committee accused both Walz and Ellison of failing to control fraud, which some federal officials estimate that the amount of taxpayer money stolen could reach as high as $9 billion.
Minnesota Congressman and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer accused Ellison specifically of turning a blind eye to an issue he says Ellison had been aware of for years.
Ellison was questioned by Emmer about when he became aware of the long running investigation into The Feeding Our Future scheme by the FBI.
“Representative Emmer as you know,” says Ellison “ I have addressed this issue many times.”
Hours after some of the Governor’s and Attorney General Keith Ellison’s testimony, the committee released an extensive 54-page report formally accusing the state leaders of failing to intervene in what federal prosecutors have called the “largest pandemic-relief fraud scheme in the country.”
The report alleges that both Walz and Ellison were aware of credible "red flags" and specific fraud concerns as early as 2020 within various state-administered social service programs, most notably the $250 million Feeding Our Future child nutrition scandal.
According to the committee’s findings the administration allegedly allowed hundreds of millions of dollars to continue flowing to fraudulent actors.
Investigators claim the decision to maintain these payments even after identifying significant irregularities was driven by a desire to avoid high-profile litigation and a fear of appearing discriminatory toward the Somali-American community, where many of the involved companies were based.
The report further notes that the Minnesota Department of Education continued to reimburse Feeding Our Future entities despite internal warnings, a lapse the committee suggests placed a total of $300 million in federal nutrition funds and nearly $9 billion in Medicaid funds at risk across multiple state programs.
