House Oversight report alleges Walz ignored billions in Minnesota fraud

A Republican-led congressional oversight report alleges that top Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., failed for years to act on warnings of fraud in the state’s social services programs, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in confirmed or alleged losses and putting billions more at risk.

The Walz administration had the authority to stop fraudulent payments to high-risk organizations that receive federal nutrition and Medicaid funds, but the state “repeatedly failed to take action” after officials raised concerns, according to the 205-page final staff report released Monday by the House Oversight Committee.

Congressional investigators found that concerns about potential allegations of racial discrimination, rather than legal restrictions, contributed to the Walz administration’s decision to continue paying providers suspected of fraud. The committee also interviewed approximately 30 whistleblowers; some of them accused the Walz administration of retaliating against government employees who raised the alarm about potential fraud.

“Alerts of fraud were raised to the highest levels of Minnesota state government, meaningful corrective action was delayed or avoided, and payments continued after credible signs of fraud emerged.” The report is read in part.

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The committee found that 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 $9 billion in Medicaid bills may have been fraudulent, an estimate attributed to a federal prosecutor and disputed by Walz administration officials.

Walz allegedly knew about fraud involving the now-defunct Feeding Our Future nonprofit, which operated a suite of fake food sites, as early as 2020, but payments continued to flow to the group for nearly two more years. The oversight panel also found that Walz gave conflicting answers about when he first learned about widespread food fraud.

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 110 people in connection with various fraud schemes in the state. Several defendants in the Feeding Our Future case were identified as members of Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community in connection with various fraud schemes in the state. Some of the convicted fraudsters used the stolen money for luxury purchases, and state authorities investigated whether some of that money was funneled abroad to aid terrorist groups in Somalia and the Middle East.

“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are responsible for one of the most striking oversight failures this Committee has ever examined,” Comer said in a statement. he said. “It is now clear that the Walz Administration has chosen to protect the system rather than protect the taxpayer.”

The report covers a month-long investigation into the Walz administration’s fight against widespread fraud that began in late 2025 and included hearings from Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, as well as members of the Minnesota state legislature’s fraud committee. Nine current and former state officials also participated in written interviews with congressional investigators.

The panel is also investigating allegations of health care fraud in California and Ohio as part of Republicans’ ongoing “war on fraud.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz testifies at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2026. The hearing examined allegations of misuse of federal funds for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Following the report’s findings, the committee sent a letter to Vice President J.D. Vance calling for a comprehensive review of Minnesota’s social services programs for potential fraud vulnerabilities.

Vance’s anti-fraud team led to the arrest of at least eight people who allegedly participated in health care fraud schemes and the freezing of $1.3 billion in payments to home health and hospice providers suspected of defrauding the government.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration suspended nearly $260 million in federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota over the Walz administration’s alleged failure to crack down on fraud.

The Trump administration has also required states to show they are aggressively investigating potential Medicaid fraud or risk losing federal funding.

Vice President J.D. Vance is joined by White House deputy chief of staff and Homeland Security advisor Stephen Miller and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson during a roundtable discussion on anti-fraud initiatives on May 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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The report also comes as the House is expected to consider a series of anti-fraud bills this week. Republicans argued that new legal tools were needed to prevent fraud at the state level amid allegations of inaction.

The federal government loses an estimated $233 billion to $521 billion annually due to fraud, according to a 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office.