Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins (R) says she warned Gov. Tim Walz (D) about alleged fraud within the state’s social services programs, but to no avail.
“He has turned a blind eye for so long that he cannot deny there were so many whistleblower reports, so many media reports,” Robbins told the New York Post on Tuesday. “For them to say ‘We did not know’ is just not true.”
Robbins, chair of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy committee, also reposted on the social platform X a letter she sent in February to Shireen Gandhi, commissioner of the state’s Department of Human Services. In the letter, Robbins detailed allegations that multiple day care facilities fraudulently billed Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program.
Robbins, who is running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination to take on Walz next November, added on X that she gave Walz’s administration “a roadmap to the childcare fraud” outlined by independent journalist Nick Shirley on Friday.
Shirley’s video detailing his investigation into the growing fraud scandal renewed federal scrutiny into the matter. The Department of Homeland Security has dispatched agents to Minneapolis as part of its probe, while the Small Business Administration halted grants to the state Monday.
Asked for comment, Walz’s office pointed The Hill to an op-ed in which he denounced that “our state’s generosity has been taken advantage of by an organized group of fraudsters who’ve put their greed and self-dealing above the needs of children, seniors and people with disabilities.”
The governor’s office also noted that he has appointed a new director of program integrity to help investigate the problem, and it pointed to reporting that Robbins had failed to communicate with state agencies over whistleblower information related to the fraud.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday on X that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 98 individuals, 85 of whom are of Somali descent, in connection with the sweeping probe.
Joseph Thompson, the assistant U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said at a press conference earlier this month that it is possible that “half or more” of the $18 billion billed to 14 programs under Minnesota’s Department of Human Services since 2018 is fraudulent.
The scandal has resulted in a political firestorm for Walz, who is seeking a third term in office. It has also sparked backlash against the state’s Somali community from President Trump, whose administration is set to launch immigration enforcement operations against migrants from Somalia lacking certain documentation.
In October, the Minnesota governor ordered a third-party audit of the 14 aforementioned services, including the shuttered Housing Stabilization Services program.
Walz said at the time that “if you attempt to defraud our public programs and steal taxpayer dollars out from under the people who need them most — you will be stopped, and you will be held accountable.”
On Dec. 18, after the DOJ charged six more people as part of its probe, Walz said on X his administration “will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught.”
Updated at 2:45 p.m. EST
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