More fraud prosecutors needed in Minnesota, state lawmaker tells US senators

Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins on Feb. 4 told U.S. senators that her embattled state and others need help with fraud-fighting efforts.

Robbins, a gubernatorial candidate who heads a bipartisan Minnesota anti-fraud committee, was one of three witnesses who testified to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary at its hearing on “Somali Scammers: Fighting Fraud in Minnesota and Beyond.”

She also gave written testimony, stating, “You can help us find the truth in Minnesota and other states that are just starting to uncover similar fraud in their Medicaid, child nutrition, and childcare services.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota needs more resources, she said, specifically, “more prosecutors and forensic accountants.”

Her call for reinforcements followed the recent departures of several federal prosecutors from that office, including First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson. He formerly served as acting U.S. attorney in Minnesota and had spearheaded fraud prosecutions in his home state since at least 2022.

WATCH: Minnesota Rep. Kristin Robbins tells the US Senate: “Unfortunately, according to multiple whistleblowers, soon after these reports were released, the criminal investigation unit for child care fraud, which had been leading the charge on these prosecutions, was shut down… pic.twitter.com/ILEjBGoPxh

— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) February 5, 2026

The resignations came amid tensions over federal agents’ clashes with protesters, particularly with those who took steps to block officers from arresting illegal immigrants.

Two of those encounters turned deadly, resulting in more protests. President Donald Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to continue enforcing immigration laws while also attempting to reach a detente with Minnesota leaders and other opponents of the enforcement actions.

In addition to boosting personnel at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services needs more fraud investigators “to help us get to the bottom of this,” said Robbins, who was also among a trio of Minnesota lawmakers who testified Jan. 7 to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Robbins’s latest testimony to the Senate comes a month before the House committee will question two top Minnesota leaders, Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, about the fraud scandals that have enveloped the North Star State.

As an additional measure, Robbins recommended that federal lawmakers “tighten requirements on cash leaving the country.”

“There is currently no upper limit on the amount that can be carried out and there is no need to declare any currency taken on domestic flights,” she said, noting that fraudsters of Somali origin have been sending money back to their homeland, and that terrorists are believed to have skimmed some of those ill-gotten gains.

The Treasury Department has been investigating that allegation since late last year.

“The amount of fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and we are still at the beginning of understanding its breadth and depth,” Robbins said in her written remarks.

Last fall, Thompson estimated that $9 billion could have been lost to 14 Medicaid programs that are considered at risk for fraud. That was based on records that were still being reviewed dating to 2018, he said at the time, and that figure does not encompass all fraud scandals identified in Minnesota.

A second witness who testified to the Senate committee was lifelong Minnesotan David Hoch. He spent years doing research that laid the groundwork for a viral video published by YouTuber Nick Shirley. The video, posted Dec. 26, has drawn nearly 142 million views on X since then.

It prompted multiple federal investigations and focused national attention on Minnesota fraud. That video shows Hoch and Shirley visiting Somali-run day care centers that appeared to be devoid of children, raising suspicions that they were illegitimate.

During the Senate hearing, Hoch estimated Minnesota fraud could exceed $30 billion.

Concerns of similar fraudulent operations have spread to other states, including Ohio, where the extent of possible fraud remained unclear as of late January.

Hoch said he filed a formal complaint against Walz with the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, alleging that the governor failed to follow a law requiring certain steps to be taken after allegations of fraud.

Walz has defended his record. In a recent social media post, the Democratic governor said, “The buck stops with me. If you commit fraud in Minnesota, you will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Hoch also testified what sparked his investigation. He began noticing child care centers were popping up throughout Minneapolis.

Yet, he wrote in his testimony, “There were never any footprints outside many of these child cares” in the dead of snowy Minnesota winters. The centers were located in commercial or industrial buildings, in bad neighborhoods—locations where he doubted parents would feel comfortable dropping off their children.

“None of it made any sense,” he said.

Then, he noticed that one day care, Quality Learning Center, had a sign outside reading, “Quality Learing Center,” without the first “n” in “learning.”

“The ‘Learing’ misspelling is what became, for me, the last straw,” Hoch wrote. “That’s the spark that ignited my full-on investigation.”

A third witness who testified to the Senate committee, Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a public advocacy organization, alleged that the current president’s actions have hurt anti-fraud efforts.

Weissman cited the administration’s “gutting the Public Integrity Section” of the Justice Department and disbanding its Consumer Protection Branch. In addition, Weissman said Trump has “aggressively used his pardon power to forgive fraudsters,” leading to the cancellation of more than $1.5 billion owed in fines and restitution.

This article was originally published by The Epoch Times. 

Janice Hisle | The Epoch Times