GOP Senate hopeful Michele Tafoya accuses Walz, Ellison of ignoring Minnesota fraud scheme
A Senate Republican hopeful eyeing Minnesota’s open seat accused Minnesota's Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of turning a blind eye to a multibillion-dollar fraud scandal in the...
By Fox News · Fox News
A Senate Republican hopeful eyeing Minnesota’s open seat accused Minnesota's Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of turning a blind eye to a multibillion-dollar fraud scandal in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Michele Tafoya, 61, is running to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., in a crowded race where Republicans have heavily targeted Walz and Ellison over a nearly $10 billion daycare, food aid and health clinic fraud scheme that unfolded under their noses. This widespread theft could flip a Senate seat red in Minnesota for the first time since 2008, Tafoya insisted in an interview with Fox News Digital, adding that people in her state are "angry." "Fraud is certainly at the forefront" of this election, she said. MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS REVEAL WHICH FAR-LEFT CANDIDATE THEY WANT TO CHALLENGE IN OPEN SENATE RACE "I think that Tim Walz and Keith Ellison are both to blame for this fraud," Tafoya alleged. "Look, they’re at the top. And as one very revered former United States senator told me, that amount of money cannot change hands without people knowing." "So people knew this was going on," the former sports broadcaster added, demanding someone be held accountable for the widespread fraud. Brian Evans, a spokesperson for Ellison, told Fox News Digital that the attorney general's office has gone after fraud in the state, specifically with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has "secured over 340 convictions and regularly ranks as one of the most efficient team of fraud fighters in the nation." "Attorney General Ellison is currently leading the charge to pass a bipartisan bill to give his fraud control unit more resources and authority to go after fraudsters and protect our tax dollars," Evans said. "He has a strong record of fighting fraud and holding fraudsters accountable." Both Walz and Ellison defended their actions to address fraud in their state during a congressional hearing . House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., found ahead of the…