The Real Story Behind the Minnesota Welfare Fraud Scandal
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Somali Americans
10 min read
The article extensively discusses Minnesota's Somali community in relation to the fraud scandal. Understanding the history, demographics, and cultural context of Somali immigration to Minnesota (which has the largest Somali population in the US) would provide essential background for readers unfamiliar with this community.
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
15 min read
The fraud involved federal programs for feeding low-income children and food assistance. Understanding how SNAP and related federal nutrition programs work, their scale, oversight mechanisms, and historical fraud issues would help readers contextualize the Minnesota scandal within broader social safety net policy.
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COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota
13 min read
The article notes that fraud became more widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic when safeguards were reduced to distribute assistance quickly. Understanding Minnesota's specific pandemic response, the scale of emergency programs deployed, and the timeline would illuminate why fraud opportunities expanded during this period.
TIM WALZ ANNOUNCED MONDAY that he’s dropping his bid for a third term as Minnesota governor. His decision was prompted by the ongoing scandal involving some of the state’s welfare programs that was threatening his candidacy—and, no less importantly, continues to threaten the Democratic party’s brand in Minnesota and beyond.
The scandal is actually a series of scandals, going back a decade. They all involve private organizations that took government money to run food banks, childcare centers, and other supports for needy Minnesotans—and then didn’t provide the services. Instead, the leaders of those organizations stole the money, sometimes using it to pay for sports cars, vacation villas, and other luxury items.
The scandals have led to a series of prosecutions and convictions, many of them during the Biden administration, including one over fraud that prosecutors said totaled nearly $250 million in stolen funds. And there may be more to come. Last month, the assistant U.S. attorney for Minnesota announced the Justice Department had evidence suggesting that the total amount of fraud uncovered may reach well into the billions.
Much of this grift took place while Walz was governor, and for years he has faced criticism—led by Minnesota Republicans—that he was not doing enough to stop it. He has denied that, saying his administration has been chasing down fraud where it’s real and putting in mechanisms to prevent it. In his Monday statement, Walz said one reason he’s dropping his re-election bid is that he feels his campaign would be a distraction from this work.
“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests,” the statement read, “would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.”
“Cynics” is a reference to Donald Trump, his political team, and his army of online MAGA influencers who have latched on to the Minnesota fraud story—not only because it involves such a high-profile Democrat, but also because many of the implicated organizations are either run by or serve members of the state’s large Somali community.
“Much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused
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