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So far, 78 individuals have been charged, and according to the New York Times, 78 of the 86 defendants identified are of Somali descent.
This explosion of fraud happened entirely during Tim Walz’s tenure as governor.
More than 400 employees from the Minnesota Department of Human Services later came forward, accusing Walz and his administration of ignoring repeated warnings and retaliating against staff who tried to sound the alarm.
Former federal investigators have also raised concerns that some of the stolen funds may have been funneled overseas, potentially reaching Al Shabaab, the al Qaeda linked terrorist organization operating in Somalia.
Walz Responds With Racial Deflection
As public pressure mounted, a reporter asked Walz whether Somali community leaders should take greater responsibility in preventing future abuse of taxpayer funded programs.
His answer immediately ignited controversy.
“Look, it’s not law-abiding citizens,” Walz said during a Friday press conference. “If that were the case, there’s a lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable for the crimes that they have committed.”
Instead of addressing the question directly, Walz redirected the conversation toward a racial comparison that had nothing to do with the specific fraud cases under investigation.
He continued digging himself deeper.
“For every crime, which of course, the majority being committed by white men, asking us to do more about that,” Walz added. “I think it’s crime in general.”
The remarks quickly drew backlash, with critics accusing the governor of avoiding responsibility while attacking an unrelated group.
Whistleblowers and Lawmakers Push Back
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee say they have had enough.
“One of the largest COVID fraud schemes happened on Tim Walz’s watch,” the committee wrote on X. “Minnesota fraudsters, many of Somali descent, stole hundreds of millions meant for hungry kids and spent it on Porsches, private villas, and luxury travel. We’re going to hold Governor Walz accountable.”
The committee went even further.
“Tim Walz is 100 percent responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota,” they stated. “We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud but no, we got the opposite response. Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression, and did his best to discredit fraud reports.”
Internal DHS employees have echoed those claims, alleging that Walz appointees deliberately ignored rules and threatened whistleblowers and their families to keep reports quiet.
Political Fear Overruled Accountability
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson later explained how the situation spiraled out of control.
He told the New York Times that race related political sensitivities played a major role in allowing the fraud to continue unchecked.
Minnesota was already reeling from the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in May 2020 when massive pandemic relief funds began flowing into the state.
According to Thompson, Democrat officials feared being accused of racism if they aggressively investigated fraud within the Somali community.
Kayseh Magan, a Somali American and former fraud investigator for the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, confirmed that reality.
“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,” Magan said.
Lavish Spending While Families Were Cheated
The results were staggering.
The Feeding Our Future scandal alone drained $250 million, with nonprofits claiming to feed tens of thousands of children who did not exist.
Minnesota’s autism therapy program exploded from $1 million in payouts in 2017 to more than $220 million in 2024, much of which investigators now believe was fraudulent.
The housing stability program was budgeted for $12 million over four and a half years, but instead paid out $302 million, most of it allegedly fraudulent.
Court documents obtained by CBS News show the stolen money funded Ferraris, Porsches, private villas in Kenya and Turkey, and luxury international travel.
Federal Crackdown Begins
President Donald Trump moved swiftly after reviewing the damage.
Trump ended Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota, labeling the state a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.
ICE launched enforcement operations targeting illegal entrants, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced investigations into whether Minnesota welfare dollars funded terrorism abroad.
When Walz accused the Trump administration of indiscriminately targeting immigrants, House investigators fired back.
They are now examining whether Walz himself should face criminal consequences for enabling the fraud.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller made the administration’s position clear.
“We are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks,” Miller vowed.
Walz once said white men should hold white men accountable.
Minnesota voters may decide it is time to take him at his word.
