LOEFFLER: Vast network of Somali nonprofits ripped off Minnesota’s welfare state

When the quality broke of convictions for rampant fraud crossed respective pandemic programs successful Minnesota, the $1 cardinal terms tag and implicit 90 indictments were staggering. We present cognize this is simply a precise debased estimation of the terms Americans person paid to money profoundly corrupt state-administered payment programs.  

The transgression quality of the ungraded rocked the country: a immense web of Somali nonprofits systematically ripped disconnected national programs and denied Minnesota families of captious services astatine the tallness of the pandemic. In defrauding programs for nutrition, acquisition and wellness care, the monolithic and blase endeavor siphoned billions successful payer dollars. 

Thanks to lax oversight nether Democrat Tim Walz, the politician of Minnesota, organized transgression crept successful and past brazenly flourished.  Even erstwhile dozens of whistleblowers repeatedly raised concerns to authorities oversight bodies and to his ain office, Walz simply blamed racism and shrugged disconnected the allegations.  

The politician precocious defended the state’s "generosity" which allowed Somali fraudsters to acquisition luxury cars, homes and vacations astatine the disbursal of bare Minnesotans. Its payment authorities is wide considered a magnet for those seeking to go beneficiaries. Alarmingly, payment is present the state’s single-largest yearly expenditure — higher than education, highways, and nationalist safety.  

TRUMP OFFICIAL FREEZES MILLIONS IN SBA AID TO MINNESOTA, SLAMS WALZ’S POLICIES AS BREEDING ‘ENDEMIC’ FRAUD

Minnesota locations accused of fraudulent claims were investigated by Fox News Digital, uncovering vacant tons and non-existent suites. (Nikolas Lanum/Andrew Mark Miller/Fox News Digital)

But caller investigations person revealed that fraud runs overmuch deeper than initially suspected, including astatine the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). 

During the pandemic, the bureau issued $1.2 trillion successful loans, helping prevention millions of tiny businesses and jobs. Much of that lending was legitimate, and galore of the loans were forgiven, accordant with the 2020 CARES Act legislation. But the programme was expanded successful 2021 and became rife with fraud — at slightest $200 billion, astir of which went wholly unaddressed and mostly forgiven nether the Biden administration. 

At my direction, SBA launched an probe into the Minnesota fraudsters. It took conscionable days to find astir $3 cardinal successful Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for galore indicted nonprofits, including groups similar Feeding our Future and Action for East African People.  

With this disproportionate level of imaginable fraud – and ongoing allegations arising crossed different national programs – we broadened our scope to analyse each COVID-19 indebtedness granted successful Minnesota. In a substance of weeks, we uncovered a staggering 13,600 PPP loans that were flagged for fraud but aboriginal approved, totaling astir $430 cardinal successful perchance fraudulent funds that should person been utilized to prevention Main Street jobs and businesses. In galore cases, the loans were forgiven entirely. 

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER MINNESOTA AG POSTS ABOUT CRACKING DOWN ON FRAUD: 'YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT?'

On Dec. 23, I informed the politician that SBA has halted astir $5.5 cardinal successful yearly backing to Minnesota pending further review, successful an effort to forestall payer dollars successful a authorities that intelligibly lacks due controls to responsibly steward national funds. And we are actively moving with our instrumentality enforcement partners to clasp criminals accountable for the imaginable pandemic-era fraud present nether investigation. 

One happening is clear: the sheer breadth of fraud successful Minnesota proves that the maltreatment of national dollars is endemic to the state’s payment strategy — and the logical effect of socialist programs designed to pump retired backing without accountability. Other states should beryllium connected notice.  

The U.S. Department of Treasury present has crushed to judge that immoderate of the stolen pandemic funds went to money al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-backed panic helping of Somalia. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has asked the authorities to recertify galore SNAP recipients. Prosecutors judge astatine slightest fractional of the state’s $18 cardinal spent connected Medicaid and related programs since 2018 was fraudulent.

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Americans person ever known that payment results successful immoderate level of fraud, but successful Minnesota — where socialist payment "generosity" is not a information net, but a mode of beingness - transgression enactment has taken basal astatine an concern scale. 

In a substance of weeks, we uncovered a staggering 13,600 PPP loans that were flagged for fraud but aboriginal approved, totaling astir $430 cardinal successful perchance fraudulent funds that should person been utilized to prevention Main Street jobs and businesses.

Accountability indispensable beryllium the effect of these government-wide investigative efforts, including subpoenas, prosecutions, restitution and jailhouse time. But fixed the egregious failures connected show successful states similar Minnesota, caller payment controls connected national programs, similar the enactment requirements included successful the One Big Beautiful Bill, look particularly prescient and urgent.

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With implicit 80 national payment programs that walk $1 trillion annually, determination is overmuch enactment to do. The Trump medication is aggressively pursuing atrocious actors and implementing reforms to support payment programs for existent American families who request it — while besides ensuring it is simply a lifeline, not a lifestyle. 

Leaders successful Minnesota person not been funny successful oregon susceptible of gathering that mission, and the processing scandals rise superior questions astir what whitethorn beryllium going connected successful states similar California and Illinois. The Trump medication is committed to exposing payment maltreatment everyplace it exists — and enforcing accountability successful states that person allowed fraud to fester astatine the disbursal of law-abiding Americans and taxpayers.