By Douglas V. Gibbs
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz turned a blind eye as the state’s massive COVID-era fraud scandal began to fester because he either sought political favor from the state’s large Somali community, or because he greatly feared them. He has been facing questions about a more than $1 billion welfare fraud scheme tied to the Somali community. Evidence shows he was aware of the scheme early on, but refused to stop it. In fact, it has been alleged he aided and abetted the fraud. President Donald Trump has blasted Walz over the scandal.
Counterterrorism sources claim portions of stolen funds were funneled to the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab. The group is an Al Qaeda-aligned terror organization that even has ties to a foiled airliner attack stopped by U.S. authorities in November, 2024.
A group of Minnesota Department of Human Services employees said that Governor Walz is “100% responsible for massive fraud” in the state. The group has also said that Walz “systematically retaliated against whistleblowers” who might reveal the truth, and used surveillance, threats and pressure tactics to discredit any fraud warnings. Hundreds of Minnesota social services workers have joined pinning the blame on Walz.
President Trump, through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), has initiated an investigation into the alleged fraud, announced December 3 by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. The federal inquiries into the state’s handling of public assistance programs are looking into the claims of the misuse of taxpayer dollars in social services, and particularly within Minnesota’s nonprofit sector. Among the targets of the investigation are Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and emergency measures enacted during the pandemic to support small businesses and nonprofits. Preliminary reviews, according to Loeffler, have identified at least $1 million in such loans disbursed to entities and executives linked to prior fraud convictions. The funds overlapped with state and federal grants defrauding child nutrition programs and other welfare initiatives. The probe aims to verify loan eligibility, including citizenship status, nonprofit legitimacy, and compliance with federal requirements.
The SBA investigation builds on other sources that have been revealing fraud that disproportionately involved members of Minnesota’s Somali community, estimated to be over 80,000 residents, many of whom arrived labeled as refugees in the 1990s and 2000s. Federal authorities attribute much of the activity to lax oversight in programs like the Federal Child Nutrition Program and housing assistance, which saw budgets expand rapidly during the COVID-19 era.
The fraud over the last five years has been documented to losses exceeding $1 billion, So far, federal prosecutors report 59 guilty verdicts tied to these schemes. In June 2024, five defendants were convicted on charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery. One defendant, Abdiaziz Shafii Farah of Savage, Minnesota, received convictions on 23 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and false statements in a passport application. Another faced convictions for wire fraud and laundering proceeds from a $40 million sub-scheme.
More than 75 individuals have been charged in the Feeding our Future case alone.
Of course, you’ve seen nearly zero coverage of this matter in the mainstream media. Much of the lies the leftist media provides is not through deceptive reporting as much as it is in what they don’t tell you.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
