Report Reveals Minnesota Overpaid $430 Million in Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Amid Allegations of Mismanagement and Fraud

(KNSI) – A new report shows Minnesota overpaid pandemic unemployment benefits by $430 million.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that roughly $434,016,714 in overpayments were made between July 1st, 2020 and June 30th, 2023.

House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) says this latest news should come as no surprise with the “long pattern of fraud and waste presided over by Minnesota Democrats. This revelation brings the state’s total for known fraud and waste in government programs to nearly a billion dollars during the time Governor Walz has led the state. These are dollars that should be going to the people who truly need them, and those responsible for allowing this fraud and waste must be held accountable. Minnesotans deserve better than a governor who counts ‘not the worst’ as a victory.”

Demuth is alluding to the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case, in which the U.S. Department of Agriculture was bilked out of a quarter billion dollars by roughly 70 individuals by misrepresenting the number of meals being served at fictitious feeding sites across the state. The Minnesota Department of Education was charged with overseeing the feeding programs, but a report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor showed the MDE was not prepared to handle the issues within the organization and alleged their lax oversight may have contributed to the fraud.

Also on her radar is the fraud within the $500 million Frontline Worker Pay program, which showed that 41% of applicants couldn’t be verified, and ineligible applicants—including those who were deceased—received payments anyway. State agencies, including the Department of Revenue and Minnesota Information Technology Services, didn’t follow best practices to prevent fraud.

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