Category: Fraud
Trump administration sends Democrats into hysterics by freezing funding to 5 blue states over fraud concerns
President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that those responsible for the historic fraud in Minnesota — members of the Somali community in particular — aren’t just ripping off the Gopher State but the country at large.
“Think of it: $19 billion at least they’ve stolen from Minnesota and from the United States,” said Trump.
“We’re not going to pay it any more. We’re going to have [Gov. Tim] Walz go pay. We’re not going to pay them, and we’re not going to pay California, and we’re not going to pay Illinois.”
In the wake of the president’s remarks, the Trump administration cut off five Democrat-run states’ access to over $10 billion in federal child care and family assistance funds.
‘It’s a giant scam.’
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it had barred California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York from accessing nearly $2.4 billion in Child Care and Development Fund money; $7.35 billion in Temporary Assistance for Needy Family funds; and $869 million in Social Services Block Grant funds.
“Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement. “This action reflects our commitment to program integrity, fiscal responsibility, and compliance with federal requirements.”
HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams, the head of the Administration for Children and Families, emphasized the government’s responsibility to “ensure these programs serve the families they were created to help,” adding that “when there are credible concerns about fraud or misuse, we will act.”
Photo by Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
HHS indicated that the funding freeze will remain in place until the ACF completes a review and determines that the affected states are in compliance with federal requirements.
‘It’s cruel.’
Adams and O’Neill also announced on Tuesday that the Trump administration is ending Biden-era practices of providing child-care centers with payments up front without verifying attendance.
Democrats melted down over the funding pause, characterizing the effort to ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t siphoned away by fraudsters as an attack on children.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose state has seen its share of day-care fraud, said in response to the funding freeze, “It’s vindictive. It’s cruel. And we’ll fight it with every fiber of our being.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) tried downplaying the fraud, claiming that “this has nothing to do with fraud and everything to do with political retribution that punishes poor children in need of assistance.”
“Rather than making life easier and more affordable for our families, Donald Trump is stripping away child care from Illinois families who are just trying to go to work,” said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D). “Thousands of parents and children depend on these child-care programs to help them make ends meet, and now their livelihoods are being put at risk.”
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat with aspirations of becoming his state’s next governor, tweeted, “Donald Trump has declared war on Colorado. He is now robbing thousands of vulnerable Colorado families of the critical support they need to afford food, housing, and health care.”
Trump raised the matter of fraud in Minnesota during a New Year’s Eve event, then noted that “California is worse, Illinois is worse, and, sadly, New York is worse. A lot of other places. We’re going to get to the bottom of all of it. It’s a giant scam.”
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Fraud thrived under Democrats’ no-questions-asked rule
Democrats bear clear responsibility for Minnesota’s spiraling federal program payment scandal. Either they failed to conduct meaningful oversight of billions in public funds over many years — or they conducted none at all. Their early response to the scandal explains why: They subjected its perpetrators to an unconscionably low standard of scrutiny.
What began as a fraud investigation into federal programs meant to feed poor children has expanded rapidly. During the pandemic, a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future became the centerpiece of what federal prosecutors described as the largest COVID-era fraud scheme, involving roughly $300 million. That scandal soon widened to include fraud in autism services and housing programs. Now investigators allege that day-care centers billed taxpayers for caring for nonexistent children — one facility even displaying signage with a misspelling of “learning.”
No criminal enterprise of this size and duration emerges unless its participants believe they will not face consequences. Democrats let the fraud happen.
As revelations mount, consequences follow. Former vice presidential nominee Tim Walz abruptly abandoned his bid for a third term as Minnesota’s governor. Yet nothing suggests the full scope of the scandal has come into view, either geographically or financially.
The estimated cost continues to climb. Last summer, a federal prosecutor put the total at more than $1 billion. Just last month, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson warned the figure could reach $9 billion — and that estimate covers only the schemes already uncovered. As trials proceed, new defendants emerge, and plea deals surface, the total is likely to rise farther.
Instead of demanding answers, Democrats rushed to deflect scrutiny. In Seattle, newly elected mayor and self-described democratic socialist Katie Wilson inserted herself into the controversy by issuing a statement “on the harassment of Somali childcare providers” and posting a hotline number for alleged “hate crime” victims — before any comparable fraud investigation had even begun.
Minnesota Democrats adopted the same playbook. They framed oversight itself as “racism,” attempting to shut down inquiry by exaggeratedly embracing the broader Somali community from which many of the fraudsters came. That rhetorical move does more harm than good. It links an entire community to criminal activity — something Democrats appear not to mind if it shields them politically.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan illustrated the tactic in a video statement delivered while wearing a hijab: “I am incredibly clear that the Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota.” Flanagan, notably, is also running for the U.S. Senate in 2026.
The symbolism revealed more than intended. Democrats did not merely treat the Somali community as “part of the fabric” of Minnesota. They treated fraud perpetrators as apart from the fabric — exempt from scrutiny, audits, and accountability.
RELATED: ‘More corrupt than Minnesota’: Trump mocks Newsom after launching California fraud investigation
Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images
Local reporting points to warning signs stretching back more than a decade. Yet Democrats allowed massive federal programs to operate under standards so lax that fraud flourished unchecked.
Despite their rhetoric of inclusion, Democrats effectively segregated oversight itself. They refused to apply basic accountability to billions in taxpayer dollars. At minimum, that constitutes gross incompetence.
The underlying reality is simpler. Democrats let the fraud happen. Whether through neglect or willful blindness, they allowed these programs to operate without serious supervision while evidence of abuse accumulated.
Fraud on this scale does not persist without a sense of impunity. That impunity may have grown gradually through years of nonexistent audits and rubber-stamped claims. Or it may have been reinforced more explicitly. Either way, no criminal enterprise of this size and duration emerges unless its participants believe they will not face consequences.
The precise nature of Democrat culpability remains to be determined. Was it incompetence? A DEI mindset that discouraged scrutiny? Political quid pro quos? Tim Walz’s sudden exit from the governor’s race suggests that the answers may prove damaging.
What is already clear is this: Minnesota’s fraud scandal did not happen in spite of Democratic governance. It happened because of it.
Democrat Graham Platner Marched with Somali Activist Tied to Nonprofit Accused of Fraud To Show ‘Solidarity’ With Minnesota’s Scandal-Plagued Somali Community
Controversial Senate candidate Graham Platner (D., Maine), hoisting a “Solidarity” sign and protest fist, marched with Maine Somalis last month to show support for Minnesota’s Somali community, which has been implicated in a staggering fraud scandal. Ironically, one of Platner’s comrades at the event, Safiya Khalid, served as a top official at a Maine nonprofit under investigation for defrauding the state out of millions of dollars in health care payments.
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House Judiciary Alleges California Wildfire Relief Donations Went To Illegal Aliens, Podcasters And Admin Costs
‘Diverted donations intended for fire victims’
Take My Governor—Please
Tim Walz has reportedly landed on Kamala Harris’s shortlist of possible running mates. Since I first saw the stories, I have adapted Henny Youngman’s old one-liner about his wife as a mantra: “Take my governor—please.”
Having lived in the Twin Cities and followed his career over the years, I’m going to enjoy the thought of Walz’s departure while it remains a theoretical possibility. I rate Walz’s chances of selection somewhere between zero and zero. Yet he thinks highly of himself and is running as fast as he can to make the theoretical possibility a reality.
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Fraud Queen Walz Abdicates, Ice Queen Klobuchar Sharpens Comb
Tim Walz finally came out on Monday to announce he was pulling a Joe Biden and ending his reelection campaign for governor of Minnesota, the frigid left-wing enclave that has devolved into a fraud-plagued hellhole on his watch. The prominent Democrat, who served as Kamala Harris’s flamboyant running mate in 2024, is widely viewed (by Republicans) as the best choice to represent the party in the 2028 presidential election (should Harris decline to run).
The post Fraud Queen Walz Abdicates, Ice Queen Klobuchar Sharpens Comb appeared first on .
Bring in More Prosecutors: Finally Ending Minnesota’s ‘Never-Ending’ Somali Fraud Schemes Requires Reinforcements
Nick Shirley’s video tour of 10 Somali daycare sites in the Twin Cities has drawn attention yet again to the massive public programs fraud committed by an almost exclusive cast of Somali Minnesotans. Shirley may have made some mistakes, but he seems to be on to something.
The post Bring in More Prosecutors: Finally Ending Minnesota’s ‘Never-Ending’ Somali Fraud Schemes Requires Reinforcements appeared first on .
Minnesota’s fraud scandal exposes a dangerously loose election system
Fraud investigations are closing in on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), but the scandal reaches beyond any single official.
Minnesota’s election system itself now stands exposed, revealing vulnerabilities that undermine transparency and public confidence.
Election officials cannot plainly explain how the system blocks ineligible voting, and voters have every reason to doubt it.
Recent reporting has drawn renewed attention to just how permissive Minnesota’s election framework has become. The state allows voters to “vouch” for up to eight other individuals at the polls. That practice requires no voter identification and relies entirely on personal attestation. Even on its own, that policy raises serious concerns. Combined with broader governance failures and ongoing fraud investigations, it becomes a glaring liability.
Minnesota’s approach to immigration and identification compounds the problem. In 2023, Walz signed legislation allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.
In most states, such a policy would trigger heightened election safeguards to prevent misuse. Minnesota has no voter ID requirement at all, leaving a dangerous gap between immigration policy and election administration.
Supporters frame these policies as efforts to expand access and remove barriers to voting. But access without accountability produces disorder. Confidence in elections depends on clear rules governing eligibility, verification, and identification. Remove those guardrails, and public trust erodes.
Those vulnerabilities came into sharp focus during an October hearing of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee. On a recent episode of my “Election Protection Project Podcast,” I spoke with state Rep. Patti Anderson (R), the committee’s vice chairman, about her exchange with state Elections Director Paul Linnell.
Anderson repeatedly asked a basic question: Could illegal aliens use driver’s licenses issued under the Walz-signed law to vote?
Linnell refused to give a clear answer.
That exchange exposed Minnesota’s core problem. Election officials cannot plainly explain how the system blocks ineligible voting, and voters have every reason to doubt it. A system without basic safeguards can’t be trusted.
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Moments like this expose the weakness of claims that voter ID is “unnecessary.” In 2023, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) opposed a bill requiring photo identification at the polls, arguing that identity is already verified during registration and that ID requirements could suppress turnout. Minnesota’s experience shows why that argument fails. Loose rules invite confusion, abuse, and doubt. Safeguards such as voter ID protect confidence rather than diminish it.
Americans understand this instinctively. A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 81% of U.S. adults support requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, reflecting broad bipartisan support for common-sense safeguards. These measures help ensure that election outcomes remain credible.
Minnesota’s lack of safeguards is especially troubling as the state heads into a critical election year. Voters deserve assurance that their elections will be administered competently and that only eligible citizens can cast ballots.
Election integrity should never be treated as a partisan issue. It forms the foundation of self-government. Without clear rules, accountability, and transparency, the democratic process itself suffers. Minnesota still has the opportunity to restore trust by implementing voter ID and reinforcing citizenship requirements before voters return to the polls.
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