A series of multimillion-dollar alleged fraud schemes in Minnesota has drawn the Trump administration's attention in recent weeks, vaulting an issue that has brewed in state politics for years into the national conversation.
President Trump has attacked Democratic Gov. Tim Walz over the fraud cases, calling Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" and lashing out against the state's Somali community. And Walz is facing an investigation by U.S. House Republicans.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have continued to bring new charges against alleged fraudsters in the midwestern state in recent months. And this week, the U.S. Treasury said it will investigate whether tax dollars from Minnesota's public assistance programs made their way to al Shabaab, an affiliate of al Qaeda and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization based in Somalia, bringing the fraud cases back into the spotlight.
Here's what to know about the cases:
Three years ago, federal prosecutors in Minnesota filed the first charges in what they described as the "largest pandemic fraud in the United States."
The $250 million scheme — which now includes upward of 75 defendants — revolved around a nonprofit group called Feeding Our Future that partnered with the Minnesota Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute meals to children.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors say, Feeding Our Future and its affiliated...
A series of multimillion-dollar alleged fraud schemes in Minnesota has drawn the Trump administration's attention in recent weeks, vaulting an issue that has brewed in state politics for years into...