Walz administration ignored fraud warnings as billions vanished, House oversight report alleges

By Fox News · Fox News

A Republican-led congressional oversight report alleges that senior Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz , D-Minn., failed for years to act on warnings about fraud in the state’s social services programs, allowing hundreds of millions of dollars in confirmed or alleged losses and placing billions more at risk. The Walz administration had the power to stop fraudulent payments to high-risk entities receiving federal nutrition and Medicaid funds, but the state "repeatedly failed to act" after officials raised concerns, according to a 205-page final staff report released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Congressional investigators found that concerns about potential racial discrimination claims — rather than legal constraints — contributed to the Walz administration's decision to continue paying providers suspected of fraud. The committee also spoke to nearly 30 whistleblowers, some of whom accused the Walz administration of retaliation against state employees for sounding the alarm about potential fraud. "Fraud warnings were elevated to the most senior levels of the Minnesota state government, meaningful corrective action was delayed or avoided, and payments continued long after credible signs of fraud emerged," the report reads in part. OWNER OF DAYCARE IN VIRAL NICK SHIRLEY VIDEO CHARGED IN $4.6M DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME, PROSECUTORS SAY The committee found Minnesota is estimated to have lost $300 million in stolen federal nutrition funds intended to feed hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic and that as much as $9 billion in Medicaid billing may have been fraudulent, an estimate attributed to a federal prosecutor and disputed by Walz administration officials. Walz was allegedly aware of fraud associated with the now-defunct Feeding Our Future nonprofit that operated a constellation of fake meal sites as early as 2020, but payments continued flowing to the group for roughly two more years. The oversight panel also found Walz gave conflicting an…