The Reformer was the first to report in the summer of 2023 that nearly half of the 60 defendants charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud at the time had billed the state for other services, including child care. Since then, federal prosecutors have charged 18 additional defendants in the federal meals program fraud and more than a dozen for defrauding programs intended to provide autism services to children and housing assistance to the homeless.
This means that once again, the administration of Gov. Tim Walz failed to do the most basic due diligence by continuing to pay providers who had ties to Feeding Our Future.
Which raises the question: Why weren’t they more aggressive about stopping this sooner?
Because of politics and race. In July 2024, I explained how fraudsters leveraged the burgeoning political power of the Somali community by weaponizing race and religion to escape accountability.
Early last year, a recorded conversation between Attorney General Keith Ellision with several Somali individuals, two of whom would be charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud, was released. The audio, recorded in December 2021, was surreptitiously recorded by one of the charged individuals, and was listed in a trial exhibit.
In the 54-minute recording, Ellison agrees with the individuals lobbying him that state agencies are discriminating against East African providers. Ellison states that Walz agrees with him that too much focus on compliance is hurting small businesses.