Walz, Ellison cornered by fraud cover-up accusations as House Oversight strikes ahead of testimony
WASHINGTON, DC: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday, March 4, released an interim report accusing Minnesota Gov Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of failing to act on widespread fraud in the state’s social services programs.
The report was published hours before both officials were scheduled to testify before the committee.
Republicans launched the investigation in December 2025 following federal prosecutions tied to multimillion-dollar fraud schemes in Minnesota. The inquiry remains ongoing.
Report alleges officials knew of fraud for years
According to the interim findings, senior Minnesota officials were aware of “credible fraud concerns” as early as 2019 within the Department of Human Services and by April 2020 at the Department of Education.
The report states that despite possessing the legal authority to suspend or terminate payments to providers suspected of wrongdoing, state agencies continued disbursing funds.
Committee Chairman James Comer said, “Testimony obtained by the Committee reveals that Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of widespread fraud in social service programs, lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns.”
He added, “Instead of protecting vulnerable Americans, they handed over billions in taxpayer dollars to fraudsters and threw their own state employees under the bus.”
The report also claims whistleblowers were sidelined or discouraged from raising alarms, alleging some were warned they could be labeled various derogatory things.
It further asserts that officials cited concerns about litigation and public perception rather than legal barriers when continuing payments to certain providers.
Feeding our Future case and oversight findings highlighted
The committee’s report focuses in part on the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme, alleging that the Minnesota Department of Education continued payments despite identifying “serious program deficiencies.”
It states that no court order required the state to resume funding and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not instruct officials to maintain payments to providers under investigation.
In 2024, Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor released a report concluding that oversight of Feeding Our Future was “inadequate” and “created opportunities for fraud.”
The House committee report also references prior estimates from former federal prosecutor Joe Thompson, suggesting Medicaid-related fraud in Minnesota could total $9 billion or more.
Walz has previously defended his administration’s actions, saying it has “spent years cracking down on fraudsters.”
He has also accused former President Donald Trump of “politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.” The Oversight Committee said its investigation will continue as additional testimony and documents are reviewed.
