Minnesota lawmakers vow new crackdown after $1B fraud meltdown they say Walz let spiral
As investigations continue into widespread fraud across multiple government programs, Minnesota lawmakers and a former prosecutor on the case spoke to Fox News Digital about how to fix the roots...
By Fox News · Fox News
As investigations continue into widespread fraud across multiple government programs, Minnesota lawmakers and a former prosecutor on the case spoke to Fox News Digital about how to fix the roots of the crisis that lie in years of unchecked incompetence, political resistance to oversight, and a culture inside state government that discouraged whistleblowers from speaking out. "Republicans have proposed a number of common sense guardrails," Republican state Sen. Julia Coleman told Fox News Digital. "I have a bill that mandates state employees to report fraud if they know of it to law enforcement, but Democrats have blocked us every step of the way." Republican state Sen. Michael Kreun told Fox News Digital that Republicans will put forward measures to crack down on fraud during the next legislative session early next year. "There's going to be a number of bills coming up here in the next legislative session to address fraud," Kreun said. "The one that I've been working on this past year was a bill to establish a statewide office of inspector general, which would be an independent office not that wouldn't direct directly answer to the governor, whose sole mission would be to root out fraud, investigate fraud, with all providers and recipients across all state agencies and to be overlooking the agencies themselves." ‘HE HAD YEARS TO STOP THIS’: GOP LAWMAKERS BLAST WALZ OVER MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME Kreun blamed Walz for his legislation stalling in the Democrat-controlled House earlier this year, a sentiment echoed by state Rep. Patti Anderson, who wrote on X , "Speaker Demuth tried to get the OIG bill passed in the House but the House Dems killed it due to pressure from Governor Walz. We all know that’s true. Let’s hope House Dems finally see the light and we get it done next year." Walz's office directed Fox News Digital to a clip of Demuth saying in a press conference last week that Walz previously stated "he would sign it" if the bill got to his desk. "So that…