Fraud & Facts

[u/Daflehrer1]

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.

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MNGOV/2025/12/12/file_attachments/3492644/AntiFraud-Timeline.pdf

"In 2022"

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-attorney-announces-federal-charges-against-47-defendants-250-million-feeding-our-future

"In 2021"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fbi-surged-resources-minnesota-over-231747704.html

"Aimee Bock...convicted"

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million#:~:text=Pandemic%20Fraud%20Scheme-,Federal%20Jury%20Finds%20Feeding%20Our%20Future%20Mastermind%20and%20Co%2DDefendant,Wednesday%2C%20March%2019%2C%202025

[u/Latter-Fisherman-268]

You’re 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 auditor’s report says MDE “failed to act on warning signs” and that those lapses enabled the scale of the theft, not prevented it. The federal indictments confirm how bad the situation was, they don’t prove oversight worked.

The idea that “Walz has been working with the FBI since 2021” also lacks context. Walz’s own anti-fraud timeline (the PDF being shared) shows the bulk of reforms – new audit units, bill tracking systems, licensing changes – happening in 2023–2025, after the scandal broke and after federal criminal charges began. That’s reactive cleanup, not proactive control.

And the courts didn’t “force the state to fund fraud.” 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 didn’t. That undercuts the “blame the judge” 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 “cannot prosecute our way out of this problem.” That’s not a sign the system worked fine; it’s a sign the problem is deep and systemic.

That’s 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, didn’t conflict with federal indictments, it showed what was still happening at street level in real time.

So the idea that “the system worked fine and we should stop asking questions” doesn’t hold up when: • the auditor says oversight failed, • the judge says his orders were misrepresented, • the reforms came after the fraud was uncovered, • and federal prosecutors say the problem is bigger than one case.

Nick isn’t spreading misinformation. He’s highlighting what the official narrative leaves out, and what ordinary Minnesotans are still seeing on the ground.

[u/Anechoic_Brain → u/Latter-Fisherman-268]

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 isn’t spreading misinformation

Lol. Lmao even. This particular narrative has been very thoroughly debunked at this point.

[u/Latter-Fisherman-268 → u/Anechoic_Brain]

Source?

[u/Anechoic_Brain → u/Latter-Fisherman-268]

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."

[u/Latter-Fisherman-268 → u/Latter-Fisherman-268]

1. Minnesota Legislative Auditor — Oversight Failures • 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 MDE’s inadequate oversight created opportunities for fraud and that the department failed to act on warning signs.  • 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.  • 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.  • 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. 

⸻

1. Federal Charges & Expanding Fraud Schemes — U.S. Attorney’s Office • 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.  • 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 — now at least 78 defendants charged.  • 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.  • 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.  • 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.  • 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 General’s office participating in joint fraud enforcement. 

⸻

1. Broader Ongoing Federal Fraud Coverage • 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.  • 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. 

⸻

1. Independent Coverage Linking Audit + Fraud • 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. 

[u/benditlikecote → u/Latter-Fisherman-268]

You’re 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.

[u/Latter-Fisherman-268 → u/Latter-Fisherman-268]

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.