Bessent turns up heat on sprawling Minnesota fraud schemes as Treasury personnel deploy on the ground

By Fox News · Fox News

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced financial reporting crackdowns in Minnesota Friday as part of the ongoing investigation into sprawling fraud schemes rocking the state, including deploying Treasury personnel to the ground. The Treasury Department is rolling out a geographic targeting order focused on money services businesses — which are understood as financial operations that grant money transfers, currency exchange and check cashing — to ensure potential illegal activity is reported to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Bessent said the heightened security will monitor if funds are being transferred to places such as Somalia. "This important tool will be used to make sure information regarding any such illicit activity is quickly reported to @FinCENnews and made available to our law enforcement partners," Bessent posted to X Friday morning. "This will empower investigators to develop additional leads through increased scrutiny on funds going to areas of concern, such as Somalia." Bessent added that employees of the Treasury are on the ground in Minnesota , including to investigate money services businesses suspected of participating in the fraud schemes. OMAR ACCUSED BY GOP OPPONENT OF OPENING UP THE DOOR TO MASSIVE MINNEAPOLIS FRAUD: 'DEEP, DEEP TIES' "Additionally, Treasury personnel are on the ground working hard to uncover the facts. FinCEN will soon be issuing Notices of Investigations to MSBs of concern, and I can report that @IRSnews will be examining these businesses," Bessent posted. Bessent announced at the start of December that he opened an investigation into "feckless mismanagement" by Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz that allegedly allowed what U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen called "the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the country." The scandal initially centered on a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. The group and its partners are accused of siphoning off as much as $250 million from a fede…