Fraud in Minnesota

MPR News
What's the deal with fraud in Minnesota? The Feeding Our Future scandal, explained.

Fraud in Minnesota has become a flashpoint for incendiary comments about Somali-Americans by President Donald Trump, as well as a sticking point in the 2026 Minnesota gubernatorial election. It's also resulted in a fair bit of misinformation and disinformation in the news.

This was the week that shook Minnesota. Scars from a summer political assassination got ripped open. Minnesota’s governor retreated from his reelection campaign while voicing concern over a crush of federal actions. Then an immigration enforcement push took a deadly turn in Minneapolis.
'Partisan fireworks' persist on Capitol Hill as Minnesota fraud hearing convenes
Live from Washington, D.C., KARE-11 investigative reporter A.J. Lagoe joined Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition to set the scene for the Republican-led U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday.
'You'll never eliminate fraud totally': Expert says Minnesota isn't an outlier in pandemic fraud
Despite fresh — and so far unfounded — allegations of fraud in Minnesota, the scandal that has dogged Gov. Tim Walz for years and ultimately led him to end his bid for reelection this week got its start during the pandemic. A fraud researcher says fraud and pandemics go hand in hand, and that very few if any governments got out of the COVID-19 crisis unscathed.
Minnesota’s reckoning with social services program fraud landed in a congressional hearing Wednesday. Republicans accused DFL Gov. Tim Walz of being complicit or unresponsive. Democrats called it a political exercise that ignores President Donald Trump’s pardons of convicted fraudsters.
Audit finds weak oversight, fraud risk in DHS grants
The findings in a new report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor say the Behavioral Health Administration within the Department of Human Services is failing to provide adequate oversight to disburse grant funding.
Demuth presses her case for 'different leadership' in Minnesota governor’s race
As U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar mulls a gubernatorial run, her potential challengers are mulling whether they should change lanes and try for a different office if she enters the race.
Trump administration freezes child care funding amid fraud claims: Impacts on families, providers, and politics
The Trump administration announced last week it’s freezing federal child care funding nationwide amid allegations of fraud in Minnesota. MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about how the funding freeze could affect children, families, day care providers and Minnesota politics.
Minnesota investigators say child care centers captured in viral video were operating as expected
A video by a right-wing content creator accusing several Somali-owned child care centers in Minnesota of fraud went viral and led to compliance checks by Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The agency says they were operating normally, except for one that was not yet open when investigators arrived.