A group claiming to represent more than 480 current employees at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) publicly accused Gov. Tim Walz of ignoring repeated fraud warnings and retaliating against staff who raised concerns, according to a lengthy statement posted on X and additional reporting from Fox News Digital.
The account, titled “Minnesota Department of Human Service Employees,” wrote that Walz is “100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota” and alleged that whistleblowers were met with “monitoring, threats, repression,” and efforts to discredit internal reports.
“We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud but no, we got the opposite response,” the group wrote. The post claimed that agency leaders appointed by Walz “willfully disregarded rules and laws to keep fraud reports quiet,” and that “no single agency leader has been held responsible for their role in fraud.”
Walz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The accusations emerged as federal prosecutors continue pursuing the Feeding Our Future case, which the Justice Department says involved more than $250 million in stolen funds from a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID era. Prosecutors have charged 78 individuals, with more than 50 convictions to date. Fox News Digital reported that many defendants come from Minnesota’s Somali community.
The New York Times reported that over the past five years, law enforcement officials have identified multiple alleged fraud schemes involving individuals who created companies and billed state agencies for services that were never provided.
Fox News Digital also noted reporting from City Journal citing unnamed federal counterterrorism sources who alleged some stolen funds were transferred overseas and may have reached the terror group Al-Shabaab. None of the federal charges filed in the cases include terrorism counts.
Walz addressed the fraud at a press conference last week, saying it “undermines trust in government” and “undermines programs that are absolutely critical in improving quality of life.”
“If you’re committing fraud, no matter where you come from, what you look like, what you believe, you are going to go to jail,” Walz said.
During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Walz was asked whether he takes responsibility for failing to stop the fraud. “Well, certainly, I take responsibility for putting people in jail,” he said.
He added, “I will note, it’s not just Somalis. Minnesota is a generous state. Minnesota is a prosperous state, a well-run state. We’re AAA-bond rated. But that attracts criminals. Those people are going to jail. We’re doing everything we can. But to demonize an entire community on the actions of a few, it’s lazy.”
President Donald Trump said in a November 21 Truth Social post that he intends to terminate temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota, citing “fraudulent money laundering activity.”
“Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!” he wrote.
