Minnesota: State employees accuse Gov. Walz of covering up multimillion-dollar fraud in social programs amid allegations against Somali community

In a twist that has shaken Minnesota politics, more than 400 current employees of the Department of Human Services (DHS) have raised harsh allegations against the Democratic Governor Tim Walz, whom they hold directly responsible for massive fraud in welfare programs.

According to the whistleblowers, who identify themselves on social media as a group of at least 480 active workers, Walz not only ignored early warnings about irregularities, but responded with a systematic campaign of retaliation against those who raised their voices.

The group posted the accusations on X, describing a pattern of "surveillance, threats and repression" aimed at silencing whistleblowers. "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," they stated in their release.

In addition, the group accuses the governor of weakening the Legislative Auditor's Office, allowing state agencies to ignore key internal audit recommendations.

This allegation comes at a time of heightened tension, as federal prosecutors delve deeper into one of the biggest fraud scandals of the COVID-19 era, which involves dozens of defendants from Minnesota's thriving Somali community.

Feeding Our Future

The central case revolves around the "Feeding Our Future" scheme, a federal child nutrition program that, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), had more than $250 million in funds stolen.

Last week, charges were filed against the 78th defendant, and more than 50 convictions have already been handed down. What at first appeared to be an isolated incident has escalated into a web of scams that, over the past five years, has affected multiple state social services, such as housing stabilization and autism therapy. Law enforcement officials estimate that these frauds have defrauded billions in total, with shell companies billing non-existent services to government agencies, according to report by Fox News.

Funds transferred to Somalia?

In addition, a report from the Manhattan Institute's City Journal adds an alarming layer: anonymous federal sources in counterterrorism suggest that some of the stolen funds were transferred to Somalia, potentially benefiting the extremist group Al-Shabaab, although federal charges do not include direct links to terrorism.

Walz responds

Walz, who has faced mounting criticism for lax management, addressed the issue at a news conference last week. This fraud "undermines trust in government," and "undermines programs that are absolutely critical in improving quality of life," he declared, emphasizing that "if you’re committing fraud, no matter where you come from, what you look like, what you believe, you are going to go to jail."

On Sunday, on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, host Kristen Welker confronted him directly about his responsibility for the failure to stop these irregularities. "Well, certainly, I take responsibility for putting people in jail," Walz retorted, defending Minnesota as a "prosperous state, a well-run state," with a AAA credit rating.

He added that blaming entire communities for the actions of a few is "lazy" and rejected stigmatizing Somalis, a group that represents about 1% of the state's population but has been key to Democratic support.