Home Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer fired off letters Wednesday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his Legal professional Common Keith Ellison as a part of an investigation first reported by The Put up into “widespread fraud” in state social providers packages.
“The Committee has severe considerations about the way you because the Governor, and the Democrat-controlled administration, allowed thousands and thousands of {dollars} to be stolen,” Comer (R-Ky.) wrote to Walz in one of many Dec. 3 letters.
“The Committee additionally has considerations that you simply and your administration have been absolutely conscious of this fraud and selected to not act for worry of political retaliation,” added the highly effective Republican chairman.
“The Committee subsequently requests paperwork and communications exhibiting what your administration knew about this fraud and whether or not you took motion to restrict or halt the investigation into this widespread fraud.”
In his letter the identical day to Ellison, Comer charged that the Minnesota AG had been “caught on tape pledging to assist Feeding Our Future fraudsters in a dialog that additionally included dialogue of marketing campaign donations from Somali neighborhood leaders to safe your donor base and, solely days later you and your son accepted contributions to your campaigns from the people on this assembly.”
“Based mostly on these studies, the Committee is anxious that you simply have been negligent in dealing with taxpayer {dollars} that have been in the end stolen and had programs in place that allowed the funds to be funneled to terrorist networks answerable for killing Individuals,” he additionally mentioned.
“Whistleblowers have indicated that DHS workers are destroying proof. The Committee expects that you’ll take all steps to protect proof throughout this investigation.”
By Dec. 17, Comer has requested for information from Jan. 1, 2019, to the current from Minnesota’s Division of Human Providers, the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s workplaces associated to as much as $1 billion in doubtlessly fraudulent funding that flowed from taxpayers’ pockets by means of state businesses to meals assist nonprofits throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feeding Our Future scammed taxpayers out of greater than $240 million between 2020 and 2022 — earlier than an FBI raid on its Minneapolis workplace led to prosecutions of dozens of its workers.
The purported nonprofit staff, a lot of whom had ties to the Somali neighborhood within the Twin Cities, splurged the taxpayer funding on luxurious actual property properties and lavish vehicles, amongst different spoils.
Different entities focused by the Oversight Committee embody Safari Restaurant, Empire Delicacies and Market LLC, S & S Catering Inc., Haji’s Kitchen LLC, Group Enhancement Providers Inc., and Brava Restaurant & Café LLC; entities with ties to Minnesota’s Housing Stability Providers Program corresponding to Sensible Minds Providers LLC, Faladcare Inc., Leo Human Providers LLC, and Liberty Plus LLC; and knowledge on the EIDBI Autism Program, particularly the entity Sensible Remedy LLC and the person Asha Farhan Hassan.
The chairman’s letter highlighted that housing stabilization program additionally allegedly bilked taxpayers out of greater than $104 million because of fraudulent claims of homelessness — and autism therapy providers additionally had $14 million in state funds allegedly stolen.
Comer put in a blanket request for information masking a greater than 10-year span on the Minnesota Division of Commerce flagging situations of fraud.
