The massive social fraud orchestrated by Somalis in Minnesota became so big that even The New York Times had to report on it.
The results are delightful: an indictment of the sloppy, Democratic-led Big Government, a repudiation of immigration policies that favor groups that refuse to assimilate and in some cases embrace anti-American sentiments, and Governor Tim Walz being exposed for the lightweight he is.
For several years, a cabal of (mostly) Somali refugees in Minnesota pulled off a massive heist on state funds, embarrassing Democratic officials and highlighting once again the fraud that pervades our welfare programs. It was a theft so massive that hundreds of Minnesota Department of Human Services employees wrote anonymously on
MINNESOTA GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ACCUSE WALZ OF ‘MASSIVE FRAUD’ AGAINST MOVEMENTS AGAINST SOMALIA COMMUNITY
No wonder the liberal media has been largely silent about the yearslong scandal that the Times describes as “stunning in its scope and brazenness” and that resulted in the loss of more than $1 billion in taxpayer money. That’s as much, the Times notes, as Minnesota spends annually on its Department of Corrections.
Most likely, the Times would not have gone into the scandal without the story published last month in the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal by writers Ryan Thorpe and Christopher Rufo, who alleged that some of the money stolen from Minnesota’s welfare programs had been used to fund Al-Shabab, a Somali terrorist organization. The Times rejects that accusation, writing that “there is no solid evidence to support thisand none of the federal fraud cases have been linked to terrorism.” Rufo and Thorpe argue otherwisequoting a confidential source as telling them, “Al-Shabaab’s biggest funder is Minnesota taxpayers.”
The Times was also likely pressured to report on the scandal by President Donald Trump, who denounced the theft of social funds on Truth Social and wrote, “Minnesota is a center of fraudulent money laundering activity under Governor Walz.” He raged further: “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back where they came from. It’s OVER! President DJT.”
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In addition, President Trump announced that he would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota. There are about 76,000 people of Somali descent in the state, many of whom were granted temporary protected status when they immigrated to the US during the civil war in the 1990s. Apparently there are only 705 enrolled in the TPS program today.
The scandal, once thought to be yet another “one-off abuse during a health emergency,” as the Times puts it, has been under investigation by federal prosecutors since the early days of the pandemic. So far, they have charged 86 people with crimes and convicted 59 people. All but eight are Somalis.
At least three schemes were carried out to defraud Minnesota authorities. The first took place under the umbrella of a children’s meal program called ‘Feeding Our Future’. The nonprofit partnered with local Somali companies, supposedly feeding tens of thousands of children, but in reality submitting false reimbursement claims and defrauding the state. In 2021, Feeding Our Future received nearly $200 million in funding.
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Feeding Our Future wasn’t the only criminal enterprise illegally draining Minnesota’s piggy bank. Another scheme stole federally funded health care benefits from the state’s Housing Stability Services Program. That initiative was intended to help seniors and people struggling with mental health issues and addiction find housing.
Instead, the fraudsters found people who might be eligible for the program from facilities such as rehabilitation centers and submitted false reimbursement claims on their behalf. Initially expected to cost about $2.6 million per year, claims increased from $21 million in 2021 to $104 million last year.
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While in September he accused eight people of bank fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said“I want to be clear about the scope of the crisis. What we are seeing is stacked schemes that are taking resources away from those in need… I spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of fraud in Minnesota is breathtaking…”
Perhaps the cruelest of the thefts involved a perpetrator named Asha Farhan Hassan, who targeted a Minnesota Health Care Program that provided medical services to young people with autism.
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As described by the The US Attorney’s Office“Hassan and its partners approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children… Where a child did not have an autism diagnosis and an individualized treatment plan, HASSAN and its partners worked with a QSP to qualify the recruited child for autism services.”
The fraudsters allegedly paid the parents kickbacks of approximately $300 to $1,500 per month. In total, Hassan and her partners in crime raked in around $14 million, some of which she used to buy real estate in Kenya.
Why didn’t Minnesota authorities act sooner against the blatant theft? They reportedly feared offending the Somali community, which is a solid voting bloc for Walz and his Democratic colleagues. As one local politician put it, “If you don’t win the Somali community, you can’t win Minneapolis. And if you don’t win Minneapolis, you can’t win the state. End of story.”
In 2020, when Minnesota officials raised questions about Feed Our Future’s alarming expansion, the alleged crooks sued for racial discrimination. Naturally.
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This isn’t the first example of Democrats ignoring abuses of our generous welfare programs. In addition to the fight against DOGE, several blue states have refused to turn over information about food stamps or Social Security benefits in recent months, preventing the federal government from investigating allegations of fraud. It’s unconscionable.
Perhaps the blatant theft exposed in Minneapolis will cause taxpayers to demand more responsibility. Perhaps they will at least deny Tim Walz a third term as governor.
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