Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced a new fraud prevention program aimed at targeting groups that took advantage of pandemic-era aid programs. Tim O’Malley, a Minnesota judge and the former head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, will lead the program.
O’Malley will start in January, and the state is volunteering information to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota. Walz said the effort builds on prior work to strengthen program integrity across state agencies.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
The state said it will partner with WayPoint, Inc., a Minnesota-based forensic accounting firm, to develop the new fraud prevention program. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is looking into approximately 1,300 open fraud cases in the state.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that scammers stole approximately $822 million from Minnesota programs, including $300 million from Feeding Our Future and nearly $220 million from autism-related programs.
The U.S. Treasury Department is also separately investigating claims of large-scale fraud among Minnesota’s social service programs after unverified reports claiming Somali terror group Al-Shabaab benefited from state aid surfaced.
