State House GOP Caucus Asks for Federal Investigation of Fraud Scandals

(KNSI) – The Minnesota House Republican Caucus calls for a federal investigation into fraud at the state government level.

In a letter addressed to United States Attorney General Pam Bondi, Speaker Lisa Demuth and Representatives Harry Niska and Kristin Robbins want the Department of Justice to investigate over $610 million in fraud that has come to light in recent years. The state representatives point out that most of the money wasted was federal funds meant for human services programs. They lament that people in need are not seeing the financial support that was earmarked for them.

They also encourage President Trump to nominate and confirm a U.S. Attorney swiftly. Biden appointee Andrew Luger stepped down from the post last month, which is common in the lead-up to a transition of power. The letter includes a quote from Luger where he stated, “Minnesota has a fraud problem.”

The representatives note that there is a long paper trail, including several reports from the Office of the Legislative Auditor, that documents lax oversight and the potential for abuse. The OLA found in June 2024 that the Minnesota Department of Education never followed up on concerns raised during its administrative review of Feeding Our Future in 2018 and failed to do basic verification of claims the organization made alleging that it was providing meals to thousands of children in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, and other locations. OLA also noted that MDE used COVID-19 pandemic waivers to reduce monitoring of the nonprofit. Feeding Our Future bilked the state of $250 million in funds allocated by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Feeding Our Future was one of 25 successful fraud cases in the past six years. Governor Tim Walz and the GOP legislators have floated proposals to address the problem in the 2025 legislative session.

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