New House Oversight Report Claims Walz, Ellison Were Aware of Fraud in 2019

New House Oversight Report Claims Walz, Ellison Were Aware of Fraud in 2019

Following a months-long investigation, the House Oversight Committee released a report Monday accusing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of knowing about rampant fraud in the state’s federally funded social services programs as far back as 2019, and turning a blind eye.

The investigation also draws on testimony Walz and Ellison provided during a March hearing before the committee.

The 205-page report, titled “The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota’s Fraud Explosion,” states that Walz and Ellison:

Possessed the legal and procedural authority to stop payments and ban fraudulent providers from participating in these programs, but repeatedly failed to act. As a result, billions of American taxpayer dollars were potentially paid to fraudulent actors. These fraudulently obtained funds likely funded international terrorist networks among other bad actors, while vulnerable populations were harmed and whistleblowers were ignored, sidelined, and retaliated against.

Testimony and documents obtained to date establish a consistent pattern: fraud warnings were elevated to the most senior levels of the Minnesota state government, meaningful corrective action was delayed or avoided, and payments continued long after credible signs of fraud emerged.

Senior officials in Governor Walz’s office and Attorney General Ellison’s office were aware of credible, systemic fraud concerns in social services programs as early as 2019 within the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and by April 2020 within the state Department of Education (MDE), despite later public statements by Governor Walz suggesting otherwise.

The committee concluded that Minnesota officials had ample authority to suspend payments to providers suspected of fraud but repeatedly failed to do so. Investigators found that state agencies continued funding Feeding Our Future even after identifying serious deficiencies, allowing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to flow to fraudsters until federal authorities intervened.

The report cites testimony from former Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead, who states she would regularly brief Gov. Walz’s chief of staff on concerns of fraud starting at the beginning of her tenure in 2019.

Former DHS Commissioner Tony Lourey also testified he briefed the governor’s chief of staff about fraud in a child care program in 2019. However, during testimony in March, Gov. Walz said he couldn’t recall details about that briefing.

The report further alleges that concerns about litigation and accusations of discrimination — not legal constraints — drove the state’s reluctance to act.

The report also accuses the Walz administration of retaliating against employees who raised concerns about fraud, while senior officials only became alarmed when they feared negative media coverage. Investigators found that Walz and Ellison were unable to adequately explain what state officials knew about the fraud or what steps they took to prevent it.

According to the committee, these failures contributed to the loss or endangerment of an estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and as much as $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds.

🚨 BREAKING: A BOMBSHELL House Oversight report just dropped confirming Gov. Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison KNEW about rampant Minnesota fraud for 6 YEARS — but wanted to keep votes, so didn't target the Somalis

IT'S CONFIRMED, now file CRIMINAL REFERRALS against Walz and… pic.twitter.com/b18BmE57TB

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 8, 2026

In response to a request for comment by Fox 9, Walz spokesman Teddy Tschann went on offense, writing:

This committee has proven time and time again to be nothing more than a joke. They continue to rehash COVID-era fraud to distract from endless wars, gas prices, ICE, and the President’s insider trading. Governor Walz is glad to see fraudsters are going to prison. If the committee is concerned about corruption, they should investigate why President Trump continues to let fraudsters out of prison.

A statement from Ellison’s office also took shots at “Republicans in Congress” who “issued a report riddled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations in an effort to politicize the issue of fraud, instead of actually helping Minnesota protect tax dollars and go after fraudsters.”

The record is clear that Attorney General Ellison fought fraud wherever possible and as soon as he was able to. In areas where Attorney General Ellison has the authority to file criminal charges, he has charged and convicted over 340 Medicaid fraudsters. In fact, Attorney General Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit regularly ranks as one of the most effective Medicaid fraud-fighting units in the nation.

In areas where Attorney General Ellison does not have criminal jurisdiction, he has defended the state from frivolous litigation filed by fraudsters to hide their schemes, assisted federal authorities in their investigations, and used his authority to regulate charities to investigate and shut down charities used to perpetrate fraud.

Attorney General Ellison has taken the issue of fraud seriously and worked to combat it since he was first elected and will continue fighting fraud and protecting Minnesotans’ tax dollars. Just recently, Attorney General Ellison’s legislation to increase the size of his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, give the unit greater investigative authority, and strengthen state Medicaid fraud laws passed the legislature with overwhelming, bipartisan support.

The committee concluded [emphasis added]:

Minnesota lacked adequate oversight controls and procedures to verify that federal taxpayer dollars were being used appropriately and the Minnesota government could have stopped the flow of money to fraudsters at any time but chose not to for fear of political retribution from the politically active Somali community, which also wields power within social services provider networks.

Instead of trying to stop this widespread fraud, Governor Walz’s Administration retaliated against employees who tried to raise concerns, going to great lengths to keep them quiet, including intimidation through regular check-ins with high-level agency officials and threats of military surveillance.

During their testimony before the committee:

Neither [Walz nor Ellison] were able to provide sufficient answers about when the state government knew about fraud and the measures they took to safeguard federal taxpayer dollars.

Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison clearly did not protect taxpayer dollars, but it is still an open question as to whether this was incompetence, willful blindness, or worse.

The committee has called on the White House fraud task force, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, to review all of Minnesota’s social programs for potential fraud and abuse.

Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn.

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