A grand jury indicted 15 people Thursday for an alleged health care scheme that illustrates a “culture of fraud” in Minnesota, the FBI and the Justice Department announced.
“It is a crisis in Minnesota,” claimed Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for fraud enforcement, in a DOJ press conference. “A culture of fraud has taken root.”
FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X that the FBI and the Justice Department’s investigation revealed the defendants allegedly fraudulently obtained over $90 million from taxpayers, thereby preventing those funds from going toward legitimate Medicaid recipients.
“These charges involve the two LARGEST Medicaid fraud cases ever charged in this district and first-of-their-kind charges involving 7 additional Medicaid programs,” according to Patel.
Among these programs, Patel cited examples such as the “Housing Stabilization Services, Child Care, Medicaid programs, Individualized Home Supports (IHS) and more.”
One individual allegedly fraudulently obtained over $40 million from Early Intensive Development and Behavioral Intervention, a Minnesota Department of Human Services program intended to offer “medically necessary services and supports to people under the age of 21 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or related conditions.”
In this scheme, the defendants allegedly used autism centers to bill for services not actually provided. According to Patel, “This not only defrauded taxpayers, but robbed valuable resources from families truly in need.”
McDonald also addressed the indictment.
He said that some of these programs had to “completely shut down” because the money dedicated to them was fraudulently drained out, costing taxpayers 50 times more than the state allotted when creating these programs.
These 15 indictments come after a series of fraud scandals in Minnesota, often involving the Somali community. According to Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, these 15 indictments added to the 98 already charged as of December 2025. Among these 98, 60 have been found guilty thus far.
McDonald pledged to continue the work of the DOJ until every fraudster in Minnesota is charged. He said, “This is not the end of the beginning of our work in Minnesota. This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota.”
McDonald then addressed the fraudsters directly. He said, “We will not rest until every fraudster knows that the cost of stealing from the American people is far higher than any scheme is worth.”
Joseph Buff is a member of Heritage’s Young Leaders Program.
Reprinted with Permission from The Daily Signal – By Joseph Buff
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
This is all and good, but they haven’t touched the ones who KNEW this was happening and either condoned it, promoted it, accepted it. The governor, the attorney general and all their staff responsible for reporting and auditing. This is a total FARCE!!!!!
I WILL NOT be impressed until I see Omar, Walz and Frey on that list. They are complicit in this scandal and should be held to account as well. NO ONE is above the LAW!!
Please tell me that these funds can be restored, either by confiscation of all properties and any pol. involved, lose all pensions and a long term in jail. This Somali bunch, aided by the pols, need immediate deportment, minus all properties they have acquired during this period.
Jail will be punishment for Walz, Ellison, and that mayor in Mn,, but the Somali’s need deportation. They were too ignorant to do this without the help of the politicians. Money laundering is a CRIME, DOJ.
I wonder that those expecting medic aid, and denied, did not protest.
When Walz and Omar are called to answer and are dealt with according to the law, it will be justice, if few lesser ones are sentenced no matter how big a theft it’s only pretending, yes they are guilty, but the true culprits are still in their positions as if they’ve done no wrong why are Minnesotans not screaming for their hides?
All the fraudsters, up to and including the Governor should be in jail for a long time, their possession sold until the defrauded funds are repaid to the state
Add CA OH IL VT???
I WILL NOT be impressed until I see Walz, Frey and Omar’s names on that list.
Without even reading the article, I’m going to stick my neck out and say they’re all Democrats. And I’m going to stick my neck out even further, and say nobody’s going to go to jail
When did Minnesota become the fraud capital of the nation?
I have wondered for decades now just HOW in TF Minnesota votes for boneheaded politicians who enable BS such as this to exist…?
Politicians, nationwide, have the potential to be HUUUUUGE scumbags. But it appears, to ME at least, MN has a bit more than their share…..
Will the DOJ and FBI go after ALL the miscreants who knew about and/or held responsibility for this debacle, or will the government elites go Scott free as with Ruby Ridge, Fast and Furious and Januray 6th?
Thank you Joe Biden for the fertile soil and seeds …
Let’s give OMAR and TAMPON TIM a chance to prove their innocence. A simple way is to take both of them to a lake in Minnesota tie them up and throw them in. If they sink to the bottom they are innocent if they float they are guilty!!!
I’m a bigot! This is what happens when we let we let trash into the USA from these third world sewer countries. They don’t enhance, or assimilate into the American culture at all, the destroy the USA. They know every angle to swindle, steal, manipulate etc. from the American taxpayer and Democrats welcome them in order to eventually get votes from this trash one way or another. If you speak out against these parasites you are considered a bigot and I am proud to be called a bigot!
Now we want to see convictions and prison sentences.
Culture of Fraud ? Look at all the past Presidents that Robbed Social Security , never paid it back , and now claim it”s Bankrupt .
As usual, the ones at the top will never see a day in court, much less jail. None of these frauds could have taken place without help from the top. The funds they have stolen will never be recovered. Voters will turn around and reelect these same crooks. They apologize and alls well.