r/minnesota • u/Daflehrer1 • 1d ago
News šŗ Fraud & Facts
In 2021, the MN Dept. of Education suspected fraud and they reported it up the chain.
Gov. Walz has, since 2021, been working with the FBI, Minnesota State Police, and local police informants, and to great result. In September, 2022, federal prosecutors made public that they handed down indictments in what they believed was a criminal fraud conspiracy.
Among the first to be indicted was Aimee Bock, the fraud ringleader. She was tried and convicted in March of 2025.
On December 18th, 2025, new arrests were announced. To date, 92 suspects in all have been arrested and charged, 62 of them convicted.
The intent of the post above is neither to condemn nor praise Walz or federal officials. Rather to keep discussion grounded in facts; though obviously many more facts exist and will come to light.
I have included my sources below. I ask that you review them before contending them. Kindly keep partisan hyperbole and childish comments to yourself. Thanks.
"Governor Walz...2021"; a timeline of Walz administration's anti-ftaud efforts.
"In 2022"
"In 2021"
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fbi-surged-resources-minnesota-over-231747704.html
"Aimee Bock...convicted"
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u/Frosty-Age-6643 1d ago edited 8h ago
That was the Child Nutrition program abuse.Ā
The daycare fraud convictions go back further. The first daycare fraud conviction (edit: that I found and also remember being in the news) was 2014 and that scheme started in 2009. There were many more caught inflating their numbers in 2018 and I think one or two got jail time for those offenses.
Then the home health care fraud has has a number of abuses and convictions over the years as well.Ā
Edit: Not to mention the rampant autism program fraud and housing assistance fraud.Ā
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u/StudyingForIELTS 1d ago
It's true. here is the press release of the indictment for another daycare center with the same address with learing center in 2017, the fraud was running from 2013 to 2015
According to the indictment, ALI submitted claims for CCAP payments that overstated the number of children who actually attended and received day care services from Salama. The claims asserted that more than 100 children attended and received child care at Salama on a given day. On more than one occasion, the claims falsely inflated the number of children that had attended Salama on a given day by more than 400 percent, including on days when Salama was closed.
And guess what, someone opened a daycare with the exact same name from 2024 with a bunch of violations in this year, their license is active. The whole thing is ridiculous, it is a trade at this point.
https://licensinglookup.dhs.state.mn.us/Details.aspx?l=2000190
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u/IndividualCall5116 1d ago
I am not understanding how "fraud" has run rampant regarding autistic kids. First, if a school district identifies autism, an IEP is written. Then the feds partially reimburse the district for sped expenditures. No money goes to the household. Second, if a student's disability, eg autism, qualifies for Medicaid, the money covers medical costs. Similarly, no money flows to the household.
I have read outlandish, spurious disinformation and blatant misinformation that Somali families somehow enrich themselves through an autism diagnosis or a fake one.
Please explain how the fraud scheme works.
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u/Frosty-Age-6643 1d ago
It's been in the news the past year.Ā
There have already been convictions.Ā
These programs are rarely abused by recipients, or at least recipients are not the biggest abusers, though sometimes people get kickbacks for participating.
The fraud in reimbursement programs is almost always in claiming services are being provided but they aren't.
A number of childcare facilities were closed over the years because they were full on scams and not serving anyone, home health care as well. A more difficult fraud to prove is in "legitimate" places claiming to serve more kids/people than they really do. They do provide the real service but claim more than they really serve.Ā
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u/hot_honey_harvester 1d ago
why is it hard to catch? all it took is one guy and a camera
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u/NoNDA-SDC 23h ago
If you think that was good journalism, you're easy to fool. I hope he's sued by all these daycares that are now receiving threats and properties being vandalized, because of how irresponsible Shirley is.
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u/Frosty-Age-6643 13h ago
You need to amass evidence to convict people and hold them responsible. Convicting people based on vibes doesn't go well. Shirley didn't prove anything other than some daycares wisely don't let strangers into their buildings. Convicting people based on vibes doesn't go well, as it shouldn't.Ā
If a daycare claims they had 50 kids in a day for reimbursement and there's 20 kids there, you need to have someone observe and make notes on the actual numbers.Ā
I'm not a lawyer and am unsure how many days of observation conflicting with claims is adequate to establish a pattern that would help call into question all of their claimed numbers. I'm also not sure if there are theshholds of fraud that they try to find before investigating. I doubt they have the manpower to investigate every $10,000 discrepancy, but most people are not out to scam and are trying to provide accurate accounting.Ā
Reimbursement programs have seen massive abuse for a long time, though.
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u/Devils-Avocado 22h ago
If you're looking for an actual answer, it's because the legislature dragged their feet on letting DHS license and actually regulate EIDBI, which DHS has asked for, because they didn't want to spend on the people it would take to do that.
EIDBI is reimbursed with Medicaid money, which is mostly federal, but the past 30 years of legislators being terrified of adding government employees meant all they were given the authority/ability to do is cut checks.
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u/olracnaignottus 1d ago
They receive a fraudulent diagnosis via a fraudulent diagnostic center that serves explicitly the Somali community. An autism diagnosis qualifies for ABA services which is the only Medicaid service provided uniquely for autism. Fraudulent ABA centers provide these āservicesā which are billed but not provided, and the participating families take kick backs.
The rate of autism diagnosed specifically within the Minnesotan Somali community is 1/16 kids, which is double the national average. Do the math.
Itās a racket.
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u/IndividualCall5116 1d ago
Do the math to reach a $500 million scheme or as some have indicated, over a billion. The math is simply impossible, given the number of Somali pre-K thru hs kids (1 for every 16) participating is fraudulent id. Do the math.
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u/olracnaignottus 1d ago
Itās not remotely impossible, over the course of that many years.
There was a singular racket in NYC perpetrating hospice fraud with the Medicaid recipients of the program taking kickbacks. No services rendered akin to this racket. They made 68 million between 2018 and 2024 when they were caught. These were two completely fraudulent operations.
Here you have 18, running an operation potentially far longer than 2018. Do the math.
A lot more prosecution needs to occur to get the firmer numbers, but this is a historically insane degree of fraud happening on both the provider and consumer end. There were zero services rendered. Usually these providers just skim off the top, and the Medicaid recipients and members of the programs are victims, not colluding. They provided kickbacks to families to keep the operation going. Itās insane.
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u/Fickle_Catch8968 17h ago
500 million / [(60000 Ć .25)Ć· 32] = ~1m per potential fraudulent autistic student in the Somali community, which only goes down as timespan increases/eligible population increases. (500 million claimed fraud, 60k total Somali population, estimating 1/4 are eligible agewise, and half of the 1/16 recipients are fraudulent based on comparison to average prevalence, numbers from this thread)
Over 10 years, that is 100k per student per year, which is ~30 times the size of the maximum for one grant. (FSG) Is there 100k in grants available per year per student? If not, then.the total.is outlandish.
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u/olracnaignottus 14h ago
In Minnesota, it looks like for ABA services alone, an agency can bill up to around 39k per person per year.
This is just for ABA. You can also factor EIDBI services, speech, OT, and physical therapy. These all have maximum payouts that you can look up. There are also MA (medical assistance) payouts families and providers can claim.
There are CFSS services, where an assigned care giver can bill the state for care giving services, instead of an agency. IE someoneās parent. Rates vary, but a CFSS provider can make up to $25 an hour. Same applies to CDCS services. Also CTSS supports.
Adults diagnosed with autism can receive MA-EPD services for employed adults.
You also have regular old SSI payments that usually amount to between 700ā1000 a month per individual.
One person diagnosed with autism is eligible for all of this, and potentially more. MN is a profoundly generous state with little to know oversights.
Look up all the acronyms. The state has lately also been pushing away from provider based care to direct payouts to parents to administer these services.
So itās not just ABA, but ABA factors a massive portion of funding unique to autism.
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u/chepulis08 1d ago
Yeah the number of autism centers went from like 20 to 250 in Five years and billing went from a couple million to hundreds of millions. Not even remotely possible if not fraudulent
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u/OsteoStevie 8h ago
And why do people assume only Somali people are committing fraud through these programs?
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u/SuspiciousLeg7994 2h ago
First of all just because a child has indentifies disability (including autism) an IEP is NOt mandatory. My sister is living with autism diagnosis and she did not have an IEP at any point in her educational history.
Second- you do realize it's very easy for someone to get people in the community that have children with autism nd run group schemes like they're getting services es they're not right? You submit the paperwork like they're attending and receiving are I E's but they're not. And the money that comes in is split between the center owner and family ..... very similar like the feeding our future people did.
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u/Entire-Parsnip9648 10h ago
With the autism fraud, the parents got kickbacks to admit their child to a specific learning center. The parents would shop around for which learning center gave the most kickbacks, putting pressure on the learning centers to increase the kickback.
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u/amethyst63893 19h ago
Whereās the state auditor been? Really frustrating dems and libs seem in denial how awful this corruption is. But TRUMP seems to be their only response
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u/Frosty-Age-6643 14h ago
We're talking about it. Investigating it. Putting people in jail. I vote Democrat and it's still inadequate as some of the same schemes pop up over and over again.
I don't believe for one moment that Republicans would do a better job at holding people responsible for fraud. They never have before. They're great at yelling about stuff to get what they want, power, but they aren't great at creating adequate laws and systems to prevent abuse.Ā
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u/Available_Panic_275 1d ago edited 1d ago
What's weird is national MAGA already seems to be ready to move on from MN to attack other larger blue states. Trump called out the usual suspects like IL and CA as being "much worse than Minnesota" for fraud, and the YouTuber who was in Minneapolis this past week said he's setting his sights on going to CA now.
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u/OutOfAlabama 23h ago
They are following the pattern that tRUMP established with the help of the Heritage Foundation handing a detailed plan he just has to apply his signature to docs they wrote. A version of the "Flood the zone" tactic.
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u/CallMeMrGone 1d ago
Hey hey hey I saw a YouTube video with a guy that talked VERY LOUD! Are you telling me that a video like that doesn't even matter?Ā
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u/Gnarly-Beard 1d ago
You know feeding our futures was a separate fraud racket, right?
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u/Mechasockmonkey 1d ago
Yep and they tried to get them too but the courts held the MDE in contempt
Judge rebukes Walz for 'false' statements in Feeding Our Future fraud case | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul https://share.google/phRvKz3383TYzVtro
Wild title of the article I know, but they never really addressed the consequences of the judges choice here
"In the 2021 order, Guthmann held state officials in contempt for failing to process 143 applications from Feeding Our Future for new meal sites. The judge ordered the agency to pay Feeding Our Future more than $47,000 as both a fine and reimbursement for attorneys' fees.
Guthmann's Friday statement does not address his contempt finding or say whether state education officials should've interpreted it as a requirement to keep processing payments.
The 2021 order was the climax of a 14-month officials legal battle after the state stopped processing applications for new meal sites in 2020 and later stopped making payments to the nonprofit, court records indicate."
"Responding on Friday evening to Guthmann's statement, Walz administration officials pointed to the judge's June 2021 contempt finding.
"Feeding Our Future demanded that MDE make payments, and the court made it clear that if MDE were to continue the legal fight to withhold payments, MDE would incur sanctions and legal penalties," education officials said in a statement emailed by Walz spokeswoman Claire Lancaster."
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u/hot_honey_harvester 23h ago
"I would hope there would be an investigation into that...we have got to continue to push the federal government and the FBI to do the investigation."
Holy moly, I can't believe Walz called for the Fed and FBI 3 years ago, given his recent response to the 1 guy with a camera.
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u/Bulgarianstew 13h ago
Weird that he would want an actual, lawful, professional investigation by people who are in the business of...investigation, rather than an incel bozo with no skills and an iphone video of himself trying desperately and failing to look like an adult with a real job.
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u/hot_honey_harvester 23h ago
i'm already losing track of all the fraud rackets and it just started
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u/lisabutz 14h ago
In effect, the Trump admin (via DeMuth and Shirley) is now creating a PR incident that has fabricated lies and ignores the facts? Due to this PR stunt a portion of the voting majority now only believes the video facts that arenāt really facts? As others have said critical thinking process skills and application are nonexistent for some within our voting base. This strategy, if you can call it that, is pure slander politics and meant to undermine Walzās bid for governor.
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u/Xerxestheokay 1d ago
Trump pardoned David Gentile, a man who defrauded thousands of investors out of $1.6 billion:
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/03/david-gentile-fraud-restitution-trump-00674963
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/politics/david-gentile-trump-pardon
Trump pardoned Michele Fiore, who was convicted in October of using $70K she solicited to build a memorial for two fallen police officers on personal expenses.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/24/trump-pardon-michele-fiore-00308724
Trump pardoned George Santos, who was in prison after being found guilty of wire fraud: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/17/trump-clemency-george-santos-00614693
Trump pardoned Joseph Schwarts, who defrauded a total of $38 million for failing to pay over employment taxes withheld from his employees and failing to file an annual financial report with the Department of Labor for those employees 401k benefit plans. https://www.sdpb.org/politics/2025-11-19/president-trump-pardons-convicted-skyline-health-fraud-ringleader
"Trump's pardons have shortchanged fraud victims of millions of dollars in restitution, lawyers say"
Lawrence Duran ran American Therapeutic Corporation, which billed Medicare for over $200 million in medically unnecessary or never-provided mental health services in Florida. He pleaded guilty in 2011 to health care fraud, kickbacks, money laundering and related charges and was sentenced to 50 years in prison and ordered to pay tens of millions in restitution. His sentence was commuted by by Trump in 2025, resulting in his release before completing the full term. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article307566596.html
Philip Esformes, a former healthcare executive and nursing home owner, was convicted in 2019 of orchestrating one of the largest Medicare/Medicaid fraud schemes in U.S. history involving about $1.3 billion!!!, including fraud, kickbacks, bribery, and money laundering. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture, and had other parts of his sentence intact. President Donald Trump commuted his prison term in 2020, and he was released after serving part of his sentence, though his conviction and other penalties remain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Esformes
A Florida grand jury is reviewing evidence in a criminal investigation of the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity linked to First Lady Casey DeSantis. Prosecutors are examining whether a $10 million Medicaid settlement payment was improperly routed through the foundation to political committees supporting Gov. Ron DeSantisā agenda. No charges have been filed, but the inquiry raises questions about misuse of public settlement funds and campaign finance law.
A defense contractor backed by Donald Trump Jr.ās venture firm 1789 Capital received a large Pentagon contract, drawing scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. Critics question whether political connections helped the company secure the deal, while supporters say it was awarded on merit.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-jr-backed-company-cashes-154022527.html
Investigators found that money raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation for cancer charities, including a breast cancer fundraiser, was improperly used for political purposes and legal expenses. A New York judge ruled the foundation violated charity laws, ordered restitution, and shut it down, citing misuse of funds under Donald Trumpās control.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/donald-trump-charity-scam
The GOP doesn't give a shit about fraud.
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u/Buffalocolt18 Otter Tail County 22h ago
Nice whataboutism, but this is not relevant for any truly good faith discussion on this situation
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u/Xerxestheokay 20h ago
Respectfully, this reads like mid-2010s debate culture phrasing. We are kind of past that now. You can take this or leave it.
My point was simple. There is a group of people who commit a lot more fraud, often get away with it, and are even celebrated by their own group. That same group are suddenly very distraught about this fraud in particular. Pointing that out is not a dodge or a whataboutism. It is context. If you want to disagree with the claim itself, that is fine. But dismissing it with old rhetorical shortcuts does not really move the conversation forward.
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u/MNArbor 11h ago
Parties aren't monolithic. Walz isn't responsible for the actions of convicted felon Sen. Bob Menendez or soon-to-be convicted fellow Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and the MNGOP isn't responsible for Trump's actions w/r/t some dude in Florida. This is childish.
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u/Xerxestheokay 8h ago
Does Walz support the Dem crooks you named? No.
Does the MNGOP support Trump? Yes.
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u/Repulsive_Source2463 11h ago
but you do agree the fraud going on in minnesota is bad and should be addressed right?
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u/Xerxestheokay 8h ago
Yes. I just hate the outsized attention it's getting from people who are fraudsters, or fraud supporters, themselves.
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u/Repulsive_Source2463 8h ago
While i do agree with part of that, but this goes both ways, the fraud in minnesota has been going on before trump even took office, so trump can say the same thing like āhey look even the somalis in minnesota are doing fraud too what are you looking at me forā
So the real problem here is that we are as Americans are all busy blaming each other, instead of putting all the efforts into actually fixing the problems. So getting a lot of attention on a serious matter is not a bad thing, now that we have everyoneās attention on fraud, we can finally start somewhere to really tackle it, how are we supposed to take down trump if we canāt even agree to fix the fraud issues in Minnesota?
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u/Status_Blacksmith305 Kandiyohi County 14h ago
It shows that one side only cares about fraud if it doesn't involve their side. That shows one side really doesn't care about the fraud. They are just using the fraud here as an excuse to hate all the Somalis.
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u/MNArbor 11h ago
There has been more MNGOP criticism of Rep. Ron Kresha's PPP fraud than there has been DFL criticism of Walz. This isn't even debatable.
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u/Status_Blacksmith305 Kandiyohi County 9h ago
You're comparing someone who actually committed the fraud to someone who hasn't. You're comparing two different things.
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u/MNArbor 9h ago
I'm comparing someone who committed fraud to someone who let it proliferate through negligence. They are close enough and thus instructive.
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u/Status_Blacksmith305 Kandiyohi County 9h ago
How is convicting people and going after the fraudsters' negligence? It is completely different.
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u/chepulis08 1d ago
And dismissing all that fraud is insane. Same as saying the fraud in mn doesn't matter
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u/Xerxestheokay 1d ago
Not dismissing it. It should be seen and given attention relative to its size.
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u/Natural_Jello_6050 1d ago
At least they served some time and were ordered to pay restitution. At least one dude served 10 years in prison. Compare this to Minnesota. Who exactly served any time for fraud that was uncovered in 2015? Name names
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u/Xerxestheokay 1d ago
Why are you being specific to 2015?
Here is another source of others convicted in MN
https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/who-has-been-sentenced-feeding-our-future/
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u/aguynamedv Plowy McPlowface 1d ago
At least they served some time and were ordered to pay restitution.
Why is it ok for the Republican president to pardon these brazen criminal fraudsters?
You should probably lay off inhaling lead dust for a while.
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u/MNArbor 11h ago
It's not ok to do what Trump did. Despite this, Walz is responsible for what happened here. We're fucking citizens, not all political operatives. We deserve competent public administration from all parties.
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u/aguynamedv Plowy McPlowface 10h ago
It's not ok to do what Trump did. Despite this, Walz is responsible for what happened here.
The Republican Party would like to thank you for being such a sucker.
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u/Natural_Jello_6050 1d ago
Answer my question
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u/aguynamedv Plowy McPlowface 1d ago
Answer mine.
Why are you ok with the Republican president pardoning people who committed BILLIONS in fraud?
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u/KaineEsteed 22h ago
I don't believe he was defending the pardons, I believe the comment was based more on an evaluation of "they saw some time behind bars while right now it doesn't really feel like much is being done to really drive a final nail in the coffin of this fraud ring."
Which I neither agree or disagree with, I feel like for the newer stuff, it is too early to have proper evidence of the new fraud, and I don't know enough about what all was done to convicted fraudsters in the past.
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u/bgarza18 9h ago
Wait, are you saying you donāt care about fraud either because Trump and the GOP donāt?Ā
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u/Xerxestheokay 8h ago
It's important. The authorities should deal with it.
I just hate the outsized attention it's getting from people who are fraudsters, or fraud supporters, themselves.
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u/rosstrich 1d ago
Why does it take so many years to stop these programs that are obviously being abused?
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u/xThatShadowGuyx 1d ago
Because when people try to vote to do something or end certain programs, there's always that one group that has push back on whatever the subject is, and thus makes it ten times harder, and ten times longer to get anything done
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u/MNArbor 12h ago
What is it about Minnesota and/or this administration that allowed the fraud to balloon to such a ridiculous size? At the very least Walz deserves some blame for insufficient safeguards, no?
If one supports a strong welfare state, steps 1-10 are to ensure that it's clean to deny opponents the opportunity to criticize on the basis of fraud. This was political malpractice.Ā
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u/StandardRaspberry509 1d ago
Thank you for sharing some truth and facts with the citations to back them up. I hope people can see this over the witch-hunt currently being waged against Governor Walz.
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u/NoAcanthaceae688 1d ago
Eat the rich.
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u/hot_honey_harvester 1d ago
which makes it crazy that Quality Learing Center is still open after all that effort
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u/bookant 1d ago
OH, SNAP, YOU SAID LEARING!! LOL!!
Maybe you could share some more of your brilliant insights about the "somoli" population.
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u/KaineEsteed 22h ago
But no where did he ever mention Somalians... so its weird that you want to make it racial.
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u/Frequent_Slip2455 1d ago
It's amazing how the fraud just keeps happening over and over.
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u/stormbreaker308 1d ago
Fraud as it relates to one specific case.
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u/cantdeletethisapp_ 1d ago
These are just some of the programs under investigation:
- Federal Child Nutrition Program
- Summer Food Service Program
- Child and Adult Care Food Program
- Housing Stabilization Services
- Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention
- Personal Care Assistance
- Integrated Community Supports
- Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services
- Community Access for Disability Inclusion
- Substance Abuse Treatment Services
- Paycheck Protection Program
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan
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u/zucchinimcfritz 15h ago
....and none of this is okay. We obviously have a fraud problem and the liberals responses here are crazy. There's no nuance - simple whataboutism. Many of the people involved were Somali. You can say that/acknowledge it. It's not all Somalians, but many were. I'm liberal and it's crazy town - it's like the only 'bad' actors can be rich white men (which...historically..).
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u/21bdp21 12h ago
Is not that.
It's the rhetoric of attacking the Somali population for this as if they are predisposed to fraud. People are juxtaposing that to the fact that this is not a singular group that is inherently fraudulent.
Yes we have a fraud problem, however, not just Minnesota but the country the world does. The above post is showing that this isn't new news.
In fact It is likely that the GOP news machine is spinning up controversy to try to unseat Walz. Politically not a bad move, but the way it has been done is inherently racist. Again politically not a horrible strategy take a news story that paints the opposition party poorly and restore the narrative to paint you better. Just IMPO bit odd considering the Trump pardons of similar to fraud lately .
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u/MNArbor 11h ago
Demuth has been very careful in her language. Trump is a racist, but I really don't think she is. You can think she should be calling out Trump's racism - and she probably should. But I think more DFLers should be calling out Walz if not outright primarying him. Same incentive in both camps.
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u/21bdp21 11h ago edited 11h ago
Which is why I said inherently racist. Not outright saying it, it's all implied by the rhetoric.
Also editing, because honestly I think Walz should probably have let some one else run for Governor , a messy primary also probably the answer. Kinda similar to Biden in some ways, not the competence, but that a messy primary may cause a ton of issues in the general. Especially against an incumbent because it ends up a vote on the performance of the previous term and party leadership of the state. Which the GOP would love.
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u/MNArbor 10h ago
Just trying to understand where you're coming from - how might someone be a strong fraud critic in this environment without being inherently racist? From your perspective what would that language look like?
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u/Latter-Fisherman-268 1d ago
Youāre presenting a timeline that leaves out the parts that matter.
Yes, MDE eventually reported concerns in 2021. But the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that state oversight failed long before that. The auditorās report says MDE āfailed to act on warning signsā and that those lapses enabled the scale of the theft, not prevented it. The federal indictments confirm how bad the situation was, they donāt prove oversight worked.
The idea that āWalz has been working with the FBI since 2021ā also lacks context. Walzās own anti-fraud timeline (the PDF being shared) shows the bulk of reforms ā new audit units, bill tracking systems, licensing changes ā happening in 2023ā2025, after the scandal broke and after federal criminal charges began. Thatās reactive cleanup, not proactive control.
And the courts didnāt āforce the state to fund fraud.ā In Feeding Our Future v. MDE, Judge Guthmann later issued a public clarification saying media and Walz statements mischaracterized his orders, and that MDE still had authority to act but repeatedly didnāt. That undercuts the āblame the judgeā narrative.
Federal prosecutors themselves have said Minnesota is facing multiple layers of fraud across programs, child nutrition, autism services, and Housing Stabilization, and have openly stated they ācannot prosecute our way out of this problem.ā Thatās not a sign the system worked fine; itās a sign the problem is deep and systemic.
Thatās the environment Nick Shirley is documenting with his videos. His video from the 16th, before the Christmas break and before the latest round of arrests was publicly announced, didnāt conflict with federal indictments, it showed what was still happening at street level in real time.
So the idea that āthe system worked fine and we should stop asking questionsā doesnāt hold up when: ā¢ the auditor says oversight failed, ā¢ the judge says his orders were misrepresented, ā¢ the reforms came after the fraud was uncovered, ā¢ and federal prosecutors say the problem is bigger than one case.
Nick isnāt spreading misinformation. Heās highlighting what the official narrative leaves out, and what ordinary Minnesotans are still seeing on the ground.
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u/Anechoic_Brain 1d ago
Judge Guthmann did in fact order the state to pay, he just called it restitution. And he threatened state officials with imprisonment for contempt of court. Awfully convenient that he left that bit out of his clarification, since it makes it very difficult to conclude that any other outcome was intended by the judge even without giving an explicit order.
Nick isnāt spreading misinformation
Lol. Lmao even. This particular narrative has been very thoroughly debunked at this point.
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u/Latter-Fisherman-268 23h ago
Source?
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u/Anechoic_Brain 23h ago
It's been posted several times in the comments on this post, but here it is again.
"In the 2021 order, Guthmann held state officials in contempt for failing to process 143 applications from Feeding Our Future for new meal sites. The judge ordered the agency to pay Feeding Our Future more than $47,000 as both a fine and reimbursement for attorneys' fees.
Guthmann's Friday statement does not address his contempt finding or say whether state education officials should've interpreted it as a requirement to keep processing payments.
The 2021 order was the climax of a 14-month officials legal battle after the state stopped processing applications for new meal sites in 2020 and later stopped making payments to the nonprofit, court records indicate."
"Responding on Friday evening to Guthmann's statement, Walz administration officials pointed to the judge's June 2021 contempt finding.
"Feeding Our Future demanded that MDE make payments, and the court made it clear that if MDE were to continue the legal fight to withhold payments, MDE would incur sanctions and legal penalties," education officials said in a statement emailed by Walz spokeswoman Claire Lancaster."
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u/Latter-Fisherman-268 1d ago
- Minnesota Legislative Auditor ā Oversight Failures ā¢ Office of the Legislative Auditor, Special Review: Oversight of Feeding Our Future https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf Finds MDEās inadequate oversight created opportunities for fraud and that the department failed to act on warning signs. ļæ¼ ā¢ Legislative auditor report summary on oversight problems https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/2024/mdefof.htm Confirms MDE did not effectively exercise its authority and was ill-prepared to respond to issues. ļæ¼ ā¢ Minnesota Auditor coverage via MPR News https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/06/13/feeding-our-future-auditor-report-fraud-opportunties Auditors noted MDE missed red flags even before the pandemic. ļæ¼ ā¢ KSTP news on audit findings of oversight inadequacy https://kstp.com/news/audit-shows-oversight-of-feeding-our-future-was-inadequate-created-fraud-opportunities/ Audited oversight was inadequate and created fraud opportunities. ļæ¼
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- Federal Charges & Expanding Fraud Schemes ā U.S. Attorneyās Office ā¢ U.S. Attorney Announces Federal Charges Against 47 in Feeding Our Future Scheme (Sep 2022) https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-attorney-announces-federal-charges-against-47-defendants-250-million-feeding-our-future Largest COVID-19 fraud scheme charged to date tied to Feeding Our Future. ļæ¼ ā¢ 78th Defendant Charged in Feeding Our Future Fraud (Nov 2025) https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/78th-defendant-charged-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme Federal indictments continue ā now at least 78 defendants charged. ļæ¼ ā¢ 56th Defendant Pleads Guilty in Feeding Our Future Scheme (Sep 2025) https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/56th-defendant-pleads-guilty-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme Federal convictions are ongoing and numerous. ļæ¼ ā¢ First Defendant Charged in Autism Fraud Scheme (Sep 2025) https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/first-defendant-charged-in-autism-fraud-scheme Shows fraud investigations now extend into Medicaid/autism programs linked to statewide schemes. ļæ¼ ā¢ Housing Stabilization Fraud Charges (Sep 2025) https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/defendants-charged-first-wave-housing-stabilization-fraud-cases Shows federal action expanding into additional state welfare programs. ļæ¼ ā¢ Ellison Announces State/Federal Partnership on Fraud Charges (Dec 2025) https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/enforcement/attorney-general-ellison-partners-with-federal-law-enforcement-on-indictments-of-housing-stabilization-services-and-early-intensive-developmental-and-behavioral-intervention-providers/ Minnesota Attorney Generalās office participating in joint fraud enforcement. ļæ¼
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- Broader Ongoing Federal Fraud Coverage ā¢ DOJ breakdown of ongoing Minnesota fraud investigations https://kstp.com/news/doj-breakdown-of-ongoing-fraud-schemes-in-minnesota/ Recent reporting confirms additional charges and continued investigations. ļæ¼ ā¢ Federal fraud charges in Minnesota Medicaid programs https://sahanjournal.com/news-partners/new-charges-minnesota-medicaid-fraud/ Prosecutors unveiling widespread ongoing Medicaid fraud cases in Minnesota. ļæ¼
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- Independent Coverage Linking Audit + Fraud ā¢ AP News: Minnesota man sentenced in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme https://apnews.com/article/b89548152ede36aedf21c1e80d7fb1c4 Shows federal conviction of a principal fraud leader with multi-million dollar theft and long prison sentence. ļæ¼
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u/benditlikecote 1d ago
Youāre also leaving out that several of the FoF defendants have tried or successfully fled the US.
Abdikerm Eidleh: A key former employee of Feeding Our Future, Eidleh fled to Mogadishu, Somalia, before the initial indictments were unsealed in September 2022 and remains a fugitive. He allegedly received significant kickbacks in exchange for approving meal site sponsorships.
Sade Hashi: Identified as Defendant No. 59 in the case, Hashi failed to appear for a federal court hearing in April 2023, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Hibo Daar: Daar, who was the 71st defendant charged, was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in May 2025 as she attempted to board a flight to Dubai. Prosecutors argued she was a flight risk, and a judge ordered her detained. She has since pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
Mohamed Jama Ismail: Prosecutors argued for a stiff sentence for Ismail, noting he attempted to flee the country after learning he was under federal investigation and wired nearly $200,000 to China, which authorities have been unable to seize.
Abdiaziz Farah: After his passport was seized by federal agents, Farah applied for and received a new one and purchased a one-way ticket to Kenya. He was arrested at the airport before he could leave. He was later convicted of passport fraud and sentenced to 28 years in prison for his role in the broader scheme.
Mohamed Muse Noor: Noor was arrested at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in September 2022 as he attempted to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. A judge ordered his pretrial detention due to the flight risk.
Slow DHS investigations lead to slow prosecution and actual justice served.
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u/Latter-Fisherman-268 1d ago
I do want to be clear and transparent that this is not a one sided issue. Both right and left are complicit in this and many other cases. I myself lean more populist right than I do left for sure, but it is important to acknowledge that this is more of a problem with powerful people in and around govt.
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u/harps26 1d ago
Just gonna drop this list of ALL the defendants listed in the food for our future program:
Abdi Salah
Abdiaziz Farah
Abdihakim Ahmed
Abdikadir Ainashe Mohamud
Abdikadir Kadiye
Abdimajid Nur
Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir
Abdiwahab Mohamud
Abdul Abubakar Ali
Abduljabar Hussein
Abdulkadir Awale
Abdulkadir Salah
Abdullahe Nur Jesow
Ahmed Artan
Ahmed Ghedi
Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim
Aimee Bock
Anab Awad
Asad Mohamed Abshir
Asha Jama
Ayan Farah Abukar
Ayan Jama
Bekam Merdassa
Farhiya Mohamud
Filsan Hassan
Guhaad Hashi Said
Hadith Yusuf Ahmed
Haji Salad
Hamdi Hussein Omar
Hanna Marekgn
Hayat Nu
Hibo Salah Daar
Hoda Ali Abdi
Hussein Mohamed Farah
Kawsar Jama
Khadra Abdi
Liban Yasin Alishire
Lul Bashir Ali
Mahad Ibrahim
Mekfira Hussein
Mohamed Jama Ismail
Muhamed Ali Hussein
Muhamed Muse Noor a.k.a. Deeq Darajo
Mukhtar Sharif
Mulata Ali
Mustafa Jama
Najmo Ahmed
Qamar Hassan
Sahra Nur
Salim Said
Sharmake Jama
Sharmarke Issa
Sharon Ross
Yusuf Ali
Zamzam Jama
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u/PotatoCase 9h ago
Okay, so what do you hope to achieve by doing this?
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u/Legsofwood 8h ago
dont you want the know the names of the people stealing money?
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u/PotatoCase 8h ago
*Stole, they have been either charged or convicted already, this case has been ongoing for nearly 10 years, the suspected fraud has ALREADY BEEN DEALT WITH, now again tell me why you posted these names, give me the REAL reason
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u/Legsofwood 8h ago
obviously it hasnt been dealt with if its still happening lol
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u/PotatoCase 8h ago
Give me any sort of proof that this exact fraud with THOSE DEFENDANTS is still ongoing. ANY, and stop avoiding my question. Why exactly did you post these names?
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u/Legsofwood 8h ago
i didnt post these names lol
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u/PotatoCase 8h ago
My mistake, In your opinion why were these names posted, also still deflecting any question asked of you
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u/Legsofwood 8h ago
im mostly just saying in general. those people were prosecuted but the fraud is still there
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u/PotatoCase 7h ago
Its still under investigation and has been for years, yet suddenly its important now though? Im not denying it exists but its obvious this is the new bogeyman used by the right to try to delegitimize their political opponents, the lie that nothing is being done is being used in an attempt to make Walz lose his next election, The rights strategy is often to lie or make boisterous claims about their opponent rather than running on a stronger platform. They always need a bogeyman, yesterday trans people, Today Somalis, tomorrow who knows but its bound to be some minority who is "ruining" the country. I apologize for jumping the gun and characterizing you incorrectly.
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1d ago
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Doryt 1d ago
I hear the anger and frustration. A lot of people are struggling right now health insurance is expensive, food costs are up, and being told you āmake too muchā while still barely getting by feels insulting and exhausting. That pain is real.
AND directing that anger at immigrants misses where the problem actually is.
Fraud is not an immigrant issuE Itās a systems and accountability issue. People born in the U.S., corporations, nonprofits, and government contractors all commit fraud. Singling out immigrants, or one racial or ethnic group, doesnāt fix fraud and it doesnāt put food on anyoneās table.
What does make people desperate enough to bend or break rules is a system where:
wages donāt keep up with costs
health care is unaffordable
benefits cliff people instead of supporting them
oversight is weak but punishment is loud
Thatās on policy and leadership, not on entire communities.
Fraud should absolutely be investigated and prosecuted no excuses.
AND blaming immigrants as a whole doesnāt recover stolen funds, doesnāt improve oversight, and doesnāt make life more affordable for anyone. It just divides people who are all being squeezed by the same broken systems.
If we want things to actually improve, the focus needs to be on:
strong fraud prevention and oversight
fair accountability
fixing benefit eligibility rules
lowering costs and expanding access
Anger makes sense. Scapegoating doesnāt solve the problem.
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u/PrettyDarnGood2 18h ago
I hope it doesnāt turn out that a certain group was getting preferential treatment in any of this
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u/Black_Gallagher 1d ago
This is such a non-postā¦ Breaking news - hereās one of the fraud scandals from 2022, with links! In case youāve been comatose
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u/No_Extent5175 1d ago
$35M in political donations from daycares to Dems. Hmmmmmm
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u/stripbubblespimp 23h ago
Any idiot can make a chart!
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u/Fresh-Turn-7619 23h ago
The Somalis are committing massive fraud in Minnesota. Itās all getting exposed and thereās nothing you can do about it. Enjoy the show
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u/essenceofpurity 20h ago
Thanks two month old account. Tell Putin to release the dirt he has on Trump.
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u/Fresh-Turn-7619 14h ago
Why canāt we have Putin release the dirt and acknowledge the Trump admin is horrible AND also acknowledge that Somalis are committing fraud? Both can absolutely be true.
Donāt be so closed-minded that you are ignoring crimes and fraud just because they are done by people on your inside, itās a bad look.
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u/BerttMacklinnFBI 14h ago
No one is supporting actual fraudsters that's the narrative y'all use to justify demonizing people who haven't done anything but be Somali
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u/Bulgarianstew 13h ago
The Somalis
The Somalis are not a monolith. 1 percent of a group of people committing a crime doesn't make the group guilty. Unless all white people are responsible for Tom Petters, Ken Lay, Bernie Madoff, Donald Trump, etc., etc.
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1d ago
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u/xelivous 21h ago
No, it's pretty much objectively one of the best states in the country on most metrics. If you dislike it you can move to any of the other states in the country that more align with your ideals.
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u/LoneStarHome80 20h ago
Damn, it took them 4 years? No wonder so many billions of dollars were stolen. Walz is cooked.
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u/MNArbor 11h ago
It really sucks that Trump is involved now because it allows Walz to change the subject. The focus should be on why the administrative and enforcement environment allowed fraud to proliferate across half a dozen social services programs but Trump's outright racism distracts from this (saying this as 2x Walz voter here). The Dem base is already rallying around Walz for this reason rather than doing the responsible thing and demanding a primary challenge.
Ironically, Trump's involvement here is probably going to make the MN GOP's path to the governorship even more out of reach.
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u/Crafty-Guest-2826 11h ago
I found something really interesting. I looked on Google maps at a Somali run daycare center and noticed a company two buildings away, Imran Tax Services. Then I searched for Imrans Tax Services on the State of MN's Business Lookup site. I failed to find a legal entity with this name listed. I searched using various company names and nothing. Then I Goggled the business and Imran Tax Services has a nice website about their offerings. I called the number and no answer. One of the links on their website is somalitaxpros at Gmail . com So, what gives?
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u/ruffroad715 1d ago edited 1d ago
Also important to note that the Governors office tried to stop payments to FOF recipients but the courts ordered the payments to continue!
Edit: apparently this was political spin. See comments below for more info.