The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Representative James Comer (R-KY), released a 205-page report Monday alleging that Walz and Ellison were aware of fraud in Minnesota’s social service programs as early as 2019 and failed to halt payments to suspected fraudsters. The report claims that state officials cited concerns about litigation and accusations of discrimination — rather than legal barriers — as reasons for continuing payments. Comer said in a statement that Walz and Ellison were “responsible for one of the most stunning oversight failures this committee has ever examined.”
The most prominent scheme involves Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit that submitted false claims for feeding children during the COVID-19 pandemic and instead used the money for personal enrichment. The orchestrator, Aimee Bock, was recently sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison. Dozens of others, many of them Somali Americans, have been prosecuted. Other fraud cases have arisen in childcare and autism therapy programs billing Medicaid.
Vance posted on X that he had referred the report to the DOJ fraud division, writing, “Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice.”
In a statement, Ellison said the allegations are “unfounded” and that Vance’s referral is a “political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.” He said the report contains no evidence that he or his office ignored or failed to act on fraud claims. “A partisan report and a social media post from the vice-president do not change the record,” Ellison said, “and they do not change our commitment to uphold the law, protect the public, and pursue justice without fear or favor.”
Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Guardian, but a spokesperson told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the report was a “joke” designed to distract from the Trump administration’s failures. “Governor Walz is glad to see fraudsters are going to prison,” the spokesperson said. “If the committee is concerned about corruption, they should investigate why President Trump continues to let fraudsters out of prison.”
Fraud in Minnesota emerged as a focus of the Trump administration late last year after right-wing influencers amplified existing fraud prosecutions and made videos alleging new schemes. Fraud claims, particularly those targeting Somali communities, were cited as justification for deploying thousands of federal immigration agents to the state. Two U.S. citizens were killed by agents in the streets earlier this year.
The Justice Department is also reportedly investigating Walz, Ellison, and local officials for allegedly hindering immigration enforcement. The federal government has attempted to freeze funding for programs including childcare and food assistance over fraud concerns. Walz ended his bid for a third term as governor in January, saying he needed to focus on leading the state and could not give an election campaign his full attention.
House Democrats on the oversight committee issued their own report arguing that Republicans were using fraud as a pretext to target Minnesota, writing that the GOP was “once again relitigating a fraud scheme that is being aggressively investigated and prosecuted by federal and state authorities.”