The Grinch is stealing hundreds of billions of dollars in welfare benefits from America’s needy, and the Democrats don’t care.
The widening scandal in Minnesota, where Somali criminals allegedly stole more than $1 billion in taxpayer money under the permissive eyes of Democratic Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and other state officials, is the tip of the iceberg. Across the country, there is mounting evidence that programs designed to serve the poor, the hungry, and the homeless have been defrauded; Instead of investigating the fraud and prosecuting those responsible, Democrats are denouncing the efforts of those trying to stop the theft.
Walz called President Trump’s promise to deport the Somali criminals responsible for hijacking hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security money “petty revenge.” He blamed federal COVID relief funds for the scandal, claiming that pandemic relief “opened the door to loosening the guardrails and allowing fraud to be committed.”
‘INCOMPETENCE OR NEGLIGENCE’: MINNESOTA LAWMAKER RIPS TIM WALZ AS LOSSES STATE FRAUD RISES
But CBS News reports that the scandal predates the pandemic, beginning months after Walz took power in 2019. According to CBS, Democratic officials allegedly ignored the theft when it spiraled out of control “because the food aid organization wanted to portray early investigations into the nonprofit as racism.”
The brazen scheme in Minnesota has made headlines, but reports from Fox Digital indicate that similar abuses by the Somali community have also surfaced in Ohio.
Whistleblower warns massive fraud is taking place in Ohio, Minnesota’s Somali community ‘just a tip of the spear’
Mehek Cooke, an Ohio attorney, alleges that Somalis in her state have committed a “massive” Medicaid theft in which “doctors ‘rubber stamped’ home health care payouts to relatives of the elderly for bogus medical conditions. Ohio’s Medicaid program allows individuals to receive up to $91,000 per year in payments for the care they provide to a family member. Fraudsters allegedly make false claims that care has been provided; dishonest doctors green light the payments and receive a bribe in return.
Local officials in Ohio reportedly turned a blind eye to the bribery and failed to conduct audits or take other steps to verify that payments were legitimate. Similarly, in Minnesota, 480 Department of Human Services employees took to social media to accuse Governor Tim Walz of ignoring warnings, posting on
DR. OZ WARNS WALZ TO ADDRESS ALLEGED SOMALIA MEDICAID FRAUD OR LOSE FEDERAL FUNDING: ‘WE WILL STOP PAYING’
He is clearly concerned that the scandal has damaged his chances of a third term as governor, and with his disapproval ratings rising, Walz has just named the state’s first Director of Program Integrity.
Other Minnesota politicians have also been linked to the Somali fraudsters. The This is reported by the New York Post that Ellison, the son of his city council member, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Rep. Ilhan Omar “received money from the scammers,” many did so after meeting the crooks, “raising questions about how much they knew.”
The scams in Minnesota and Ohio are horrific but not shocking. The plundering of our nation’s prosperity funds is a national problem. Obamacare is one of many government programs rife with fraud. The General Accounting Office recently reported that “massive systemic failures that enable false identities, dead people, and massive improper use of Social Security numbers to receive Obamacare subsidies” are costing taxpayers $27 billion a year. As part of their investigation, the GAO applied for Obamacare subsidies under fictitious names and without any documentation; 90% of fake applications were accepted.
To put this in perspective, the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that extending the premium subsidies being debated in Congress would cost about $60 billion over two years. In other words, eliminating fraud in Obamacare would almost pay for the extension.
Elsewhere, consider the response from 22 Democratic-controlled states that have refused to share information with the federal government about food stamp (SNAP) recipients. The Trump White House has requested the names and immigration status of those receiving the benefits, which are provided by the federal government, to root out fraud.
Brooke Rollins, head of the Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, said information provided by 28 states shows that about 186,000 deceased people are receiving SNAP benefits and 500,000 are receiving benefits more than once.
HOW FEAR OF BEING LABELED ‘RACIST’ HELPS ‘PROVIDE COVER’ FOR MINNESOTA’S EXPLODING FRAUD SCANDAL
SNAP is the largest nutrition program in the countrywhich provides nearly $100 billion in benefits annually and serves 1 in 8 lower-income Americans, or 42 million people. Between October 2022 and December 2024, states that submitted their data to the FBI reported replacing more than $320 million in stolen benefits. Considering that some of the largest states in the union, such as California and New York, have refused to comply, the national number is likely much higher.
Last year, the Court of Audit reported that in 2023the federal government under President Joe Biden has made “improper payments” totaling an estimated $236 billion; 74% went to deceased or ineligible recipients. Both Medicaid and Medicare have paid out more than $50 billion in incorrect payments. The response to this revelation by Joe Biden’s White House? A very big yawn.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS ADVICE
Democrats portray themselves as the protectors of the needy. Allowing hundreds of billions of dollars to be lost each year from SNAP, Medicaid, and other efforts to help our less fortunate citizens has the same impact as eliminating those programs.
Democrats routinely cry foul at even the slightest attempt to cut benefits; For example, the suggestion that able-bodied single men were not the intended recipients of Medicaid and that work requirements could appropriately reset the program provokes outrage from the left.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Democrats embrace hugely costly welfare programs, knowing that the more voters become dependent on the state, the more likely they are to re-elect the promising ever-larger benefits. Tough action against theft, waste and abuse does not win them any votes at all.
This is a problem for the entire country.
CLICK HERE TO FROM LIZ PEEK
