Minnesota Welfare Fraud Grows to Monstrous Proportions

“Huge” is no longer adequate to describe the welfare fraud scandal that has occurred in Minnesota – not only in the magnitude of the fraud (now approaching $9 billion and counting) but also in duration (more than 15 years).  Since the scandal is centered on a specific immigrant community – the very close-knit Somalis – it becomes an immigration issue.  It is also a political scandal potentially embroiling such high-visibility politicians as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Somali Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and any number of other officials

The Somali Connection

Before getting into the scandal itself, let us consider the immigration issue. It taps into the center of the highly emotional national political divide.  The MAGA Republican side sees the scandal as a result of failed immigration policies, inadequate vetting and the Democrats’ open borders policies.  The radical Democrat side incorporating the ethnicity issue is … here we go again … racist.

No one is saying that all – or even most Somalis – are criminals or involved in the scandal. However, the overwhelming number of Somalis involved at all levels of the fraud cannot be dismissed.  There is a degree of criminality associated with large numbers of the community.  I would liken it to the connection between Italians and the Mafia.  As you would learn in a Logic 101 class, “All Mafia are Italian, but all Italians are not Mafia.”  Same for Somalis.

Having said all that, it is still legitimate investigate why the fraud seems to be a Somali problem in this case. It does appear that criminality is an issue in the culture.  The nation itself is overrun with violent crime– including piracy, terrorism and official corruption.  President Trump has banned immigration from Somalia.  Better late than never.

The Magnitude of the Fraud

The Minnesota welfare scandal is unprecedented in two ways – the amount of taxpayer money that has been stolen. Initial reports placed it at $1 billion.  The current conservative estimate puts the number closer to $10 billion.  In this case, if Trump were to say that “nobody has seen anything like it”, he would be correct. It has been described as the worst case of taxpayer fraud in American history.

At this point, the theft is equivalent to the entire Gross National Product of Somalia. Ponder that.  The amount of money stolen would have funded the entire nation of Somalia.  It is five times more than the entire budget of Minneapolis – and three times more than the projected deficit in the Minnesota state budget.  And … the amount of the fraud is expected to increase significantly as the investigations continue.

What is so remarkable is how audacious it has been – and how many people were involved over so many years.  It was not some hard-to-detect embezzlement.  Fraud was committed in plain view of the community, of law enforcement, government agencies, the media and the political leadership.  There was no attempt to conceal the fraud.

Stealing from kids, seniors and the disabled

From whom were the fraudsters stealing?  Many of the funds were intended to support daycare for children and parents in the lowest income categories. Other funds were to provide transportation to hospitals and doctors’ offices for the elderly or disabled.  Since the children were not being serviced by those funds, how was day care and elderly care being serviced?   Were other funds used to meet the needs of parents and the elderly?

The Nick Shirley Video

To get a sense of the audacity of the culprits, you need to view a video produced as part of the investigative reporting of citizen-journalist Nick Shirley. (view here).  Based on the video, it is painfully obvious that there was no … as in zero … supervision of the money by the Minnesota agencies signing and mailing the checks.   Shirley’s videos show dozens of “fronts” standing idle as millions of dollars were being paid by taxpayers to each one of them – year after year.

Who are the Fraudsters?

Much of the fraud centers around the nonprofit Feeding our Future – which is among the largest COVID-related fraud operations in the United States.  According to NewsNarion, at least 90 people have been convicted so far. Another 98 have been arrested. The vast majority of the convicted and arrested are Somali.

Among those arrested or convicted were community level activists — nonprofit executives, food‑site managers, restaurant owners, shell‑company operators, and intermediaries who processed fraudulent invoices.

The most prominent figure so far is Aimee Bock, the executive director of Feeding Our Future.  She was found guilty of multiple counts of wire fraud and ordered to repay more than $5.2 million. Other defendants include individuals who ran food distribution sites, managed affiliated restaurants, or operated companies that claimed to provide meals to children. Some defendants worked in assisted‑living facilities, autism‑service providers, or housing‑assistance programs.  In other words, fraud was committed in multiple state- funded operations involving multiple state agencies.

Where Did the Money Go?

As best the money can be traced, it was spent on luxury homes, real estate purchases (including overseas), gold and silver, expensive cars, jewelry, designer goods, gambling, travel, fine dining, laundering accounts and networks and political donations.  It should be noted that while both Walz and Omar had political “ties” with some of those involved, there is no record of any political contributions.

Tracking down the money is still part of the ongoing investigations.  The expenditures still fall far short of the amount of money stolen in the various schemes.

Overseers: Incompetent or Culpable?

It is unimaginable that incompetence on the part of so many government officials can explain such long-standing massive fraud.  A former Homeland Security Agent expressed his concerns in a video in which he alleges that information and evidence developed in past investigations simply “evaporated”. There was no law enforcement follow-up. 

Defending the Indefensible

Despite the magnitude of the fraud, the current level of arrests and convictions, those on the radical left refuse to accept reality – and yet again come to the defense of the criminal class. It was most notable on MS NOW (of course).  The networks reporter, Alex Tabet, came to the defense of the Biden and Walz administrations and the left-wing political establishment. 

Noting that the fraud involves mostly Somalis, Tabet called the current reports xenophobic.  He was mocking of Shirley’s videos, calling them “dubious”.  He credited President Biden and Walz with launching investigations into welfare fraud. His entire report was mendacious propaganda.  MS NOW has a new name but the same stripes.

Summary

The Minnesota welfare fraud is a major scandal that will be played out for months – and even years to come.  There will be more arrests and convictions.  How it will impact on Walz’ plans for a third term as governor is yet to be determined. But the odds favor a withdrawal from the race – or a defeat.  Omar is likely to be reelected to Congress in 2026, but the odds are not as good as they were in the past.

The big question is whether accountability will come to all those bureaucrats who presided over the programs and the money on behalf of the taxpayer.  If this happened in the private sector, you can be sure that heads would roll.  But in bureaucracy, administrative incompetence is not an issue.