The $1 billion welfare fraud operation in Minnesota has revealed 86 suspects involved in what officials describe as what could be the largest theft of taxpayer money in United States history.
The case centers largely on Somali refugee communities. The suspects allegedly created or operated companies that billed Minnesota for social services that were never provided. Millions of false invoices were submitted.
The schemes involved programs intended to feed children, provide homeless services, and support autism therapy, federal investigators say.
Public records and photographs show that some of the individuals charged had appeared in images with Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar and Democrat Gov. Tim Walz.
One suspect in the theft, Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Friday. He was seen in photographs with Walz and Omar, Fox News reported.
Authorities say Ibrahim was previously convicted of welfare fraud in Canada and should never have been granted temporary status in the United States.
An immigration judge denied an asylum request from Ibrahim in 2004 because of a significant amount of fraud on his record, Fox News reported. However, Ibrahim was granted 10 years of temporary protected status, despite having an order of removal.
President Donald Trump recently announced his administration is taking action to crack down and investigate fraud schemes in Minnesota, which he has assailed as a “hub of money laundering activity,” and cited it as the basis of his decision to terminate deportation protections for hundreds of Somali migrants.
In a report titled "How Fraud Swamped Minnesota’s Social Services System on Tim Walz’s Watch", The New York Times cited a defense attorney who has represented a number of the fraudsters as saying: "Some involved became convinced that state agencies were tolerating, if not tacitly allowing, the fraud. No one was doing anything about the red flags. It was like someone was stealing money from the cookie jar and they kept refilling it.”
The article also quoted a Somali American fraud investigator who said: "Elected officials in the state — and particularly those who were part of the state’s Democratic-led administration — were reluctant to take more assertive action in response to allegations [of fraud] in the Somali community."
The investigator added: “There is a perception that forcefully tackling this issue might cause political backlash among the Somali community, which is a core voting bloc” for Democrats.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz on Friday warned Walz the state could lose federal Medicaid funding unless it restores “the integrity” of its program.
In a post on X, Oz claimed more than $1 billion had been stolen through a massive Medicaid fraud scheme carried out by “bad actors” within Minnesota’s Somali community, alleging some of the funds “may have even made its way to the Somalian terrorist group (al-Shabab).”
“Our staff at CMS told me they’ve never seen anything like this in Medicaid — and everyone from Gov. Tim Walz on down needs to be investigated, because they’ve been asleep at the wheel,” Oz said.
“These scammers used stolen taxpayer money to buy flashy cars, purchase overseas real estate and offer kickbacks to parents who enrolled their kids at fake autism treatment centers,” Oz said. “Some of it may have even made its way to the Somalian terrorist group al-Shabab. … So why didn’t Walz stop them? That’s simple: because he went all-in on identity politics.”
And leave it to legacy media to downplay what is a massive abuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
On MS NOW, previously MSNBC, "The Weekend" co-host Jackie Alemany referred to the $1 billion fraud scheme as a throwaway "isolated" incident.
Alemany "explained" in her question to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison that Trump has " historically used isolated instances to justify this language of bigotry and paint with extremely broad brushstrokes and make these generalizations. He has honed in on this investigation into Feeding Our Future, which your office actually prosecuted."
Actually, false. It was a federal prosecution.
Alemany continued: "I'm wondering if you can set the record straight here, and talk a little bit about this investigation and what it entailed, and how isolated it actually was."
The Media Research Center noted: "Despite being a liberal Democrat and a Muslim, Ellison—no doubt knowing just how pervasive the Somali fraud was—declined to run with Alemany's ball. Instead, he indirectly corrected her and congratulated the U.S. Attorney's office for conducting the prosecutions, and piously claimed, 'we all wanna protect the public dollar. We wanna prosecute people who engage in fraud.' "
Meanwhile, ICE continues its Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, which began on Dec. 1. Five Somalis, two of whom have also been convicted of fraud, have been arrested in the operation. Among others arrested are child sex offenders, gang members, and domestic abusers.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in regards to the ongoing operation:
"Sanctuary policies and politicians like Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey allowed these pedophiles, domestic terrorists, and gang members to roam the streets and terrorize Americans. ICE law enforcement are risking their lives to protect Minnesotans while their own elected officials sit by and do nothing. No matter when and where, ICE will find, arrest, and deport ALL criminal illegal aliens."
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