Assisted living fraud adds to Minnesota’s growing scandal under Tim Walz
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SPECIAL: Fox News Digital spoke shortly after Minnesota State Representative Kristin Robbins announced alleged fraud of millions in the state’s assisted living program, adding to the fraud scandal already exploding in the state by identifying a person already accused of fraud who was still receiving payments from the state.
Fraud Prevention and Government Agency Oversight Policy, chaired by Robbins. organized hearing It has focused on a new industry of fraud, the state’s assisted living programs, which has emerged amid a massive fraud scandal that has affected many other industries in the state and resulted in calls for the resignation of the state’s chief executive, Gov. Tim Walz.
The committee alleges that certain individuals associated with other fraud schemes received millions of taxpayer dollars for the assisted living program, and that one of these individuals, referred to as the “FOF Defendant,” is currently facing indictment as part of the Feeding the Future fraud scheme but still received payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
In a presentation, Robbins linked properties owned by the FOF Defendant to assistant living facility fraud, outlining what he called an “incredible” fraud network that was able to bypass any oversight procedures.
A GRAPHIC SHOWS THE COMMON FRAUD NETWORK MISSED BY MINNESOTA OFFICIALS
“I bring this to your attention because despite months of hearings, we continue to overlook the most basic internal controls and the most basic checks and balances when registering providers,” Robbins said during the hearing. “It’s just one network. Our researchers have multiple networks that we can discuss today.”
Robbins, the Republican candidate for governor who will replace Walz next year, said he would turn over his findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office today for further investigation.
INSIDE MINNESOTA’S $1 BILLION FRAUD: FAKE OFFICES, FAKE COMPANIES AND A SCANDAL HIDING IN SIGHT
The sun is shining on the Minnesota State Capitol. (Steve Karnowski/Associated Press)
“I find it unreasonable for them to say that the department doesn’t do a basic check on all Feeding Our Future people who are charged or convicted and make sure they’re not taking government money from other programs,” Robbins told Fox News Digital.
While investigations into fraud have focused primarily on nonprofits abusing COVID-19 and food assistance programs, the committee’s allegation that adult day care services and assisted living facilities were also involved in fraud suggests the scandal is broader in scope than previously reported.
“I would predict that more fraud will be uncovered in these industries. And I assume this is happening in other states as well. As we’ve seen, similar fraud is happening in Maine and many other states. So I think all institutions across the country need to adapt to this and look at programs,” Robbins said.
He adds: “And it’s not high finance. What they need to do is basic internal controls.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be in St. Petersburg on December 12, 2024. He sits down for an interview with Star Tribune reporters in his office at the St. Paul State Capitol. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The fraud scandal in Minnesota, which dates back to at least 2020 but has come to the fore nationally in recent weeks, has led to several swift actions by the Trump administration and Congress.
The Small Business Administration is investigating a network of Somali groups in Minnesota that it says are connected to the scandal, and the House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into Walz’s role.
The Department of Health and Human Services has launched an investigation into how Minnesota used billions of dollars in federal social service funding and requested detailed records from the Walz administration and other government agencies after reports raised questions about whether some of the money was misused.
On Tuesday, Fox News Digital first reported that Education Secretary Linda McMahon had called on Walz to resign over the scandal.
“You have been Governor of Minnesota since 2019,” McMahon wrote. “During this time, your reckless lack of oversight and abuse of the welfare system has allowed fraudsters from around the world, particularly from Somalia, to establish a criminal hotspot in our country. In the words of President Trump, you have turned Minnesota into a ‘fraudulent epicenter of money laundering activities.'”
