Biden Admin Sowed the Seeds of the Somali Fraud Scandal
The $90,000,000+ Minnesota Medicaid fraud takedown announced on May 21, 2026 did not emerge from nowhere. Beneath the 15 defendants charged by the Trump Justice Department lies a traceable policy architecture — a sequence of decisions made between 2020 and 2024 by the Biden administration, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that systematically removed the oversight safeguards that would have stopped the fraud years earlier.
The mechanism is documented in federal records: Rep. Omar introduced the MEALS Act in March 2020, which directed USDA to waive monitoring requirements for the federal child-nutrition program. The Biden administration’s USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack (D) extended and expanded those waivers into 2021 and again for SY 2021-22 — creating the zero-oversight environment in which Feeding Our Future grew from $3,400,000 to $197,900,000 in federal reimbursements in two years, a 5,700% increase.
The House Oversight Committee found in March 2026 that Gov. Walz (D-MN) and AG Keith Ellison (D-MN) were aware of fraud warnings by at least April 2020 — and that after receiving them, the Walz administration hired private investigators to silence state employees who raised concerns. Walz dropped his 2026 reelection bid on January 5, 2026.
- $3.4M → $197.9MFeeding Our Future reimbursements, 2019 → 2021 — a 5,700% increase under Biden USDA waivers— MN Reformer / Star Tribune
- 100+USDA pandemic waivers granted to Minnesota under the MEALS Act framework— USDA FNS
- $17.8Madditional USDA payments MDE made to Feeding Our Future after notifying FBI (April–July 2021)— MN OLA 2024
- 30+complaints MDE received about Feeding Our Future from 2018–2021 — most inadequately investigated— MN OLA 2024
- $104M/yrcost of Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services Medicaid program by 2024, up from $2.6M in 2020— AEI analysis
- Jan 5, 2026date Gov. Walz dropped his 2026 reelection bid amid fraud fallout— Star Tribune
On March 11, 2020, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) introduced the MEALS Act — the School Meals During School Closures Act — which directed USDA to issue waivers removing standard safeguards on the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The waivers eliminated three protections that had long prevented fraud: on-site meal consumption requirements (allowing bulk to-go pickups with no attendance verification); in-person monitoring requirements for state agencies; and the annual half-aggregate monitoring visit requirement under the Summer Food Service Program.
Omar subsequently led a letter signed by 119 members of Congress urging USDA to extend the waivers for 2020-21. In early 2021, she led another letter urging USDA to reverse a decision to let the waivers expire. Biden’s USDA Secretary Vilsack extended them on March 9, 2021 — granting Minnesota and other states a second full year of zero-verification pandemic conditions. When asked about the connection between the MEALS Act and the fraud, Rep. Omar said she had “absolutely no regrets.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)— introduced MEALS Act (March 2020); led three congressional letters urging USDA to extend waivers; called the Act “necessary pandemic relief” after fraud emerged; withheld communications from investigators.
USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack (D)— extended waivers March 9, 2021 (Biden’s first term); maintained them for SY 2021-22; USDA received fraud flag reports and continued paying Feeding Our Future anyway.
HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra (D)— oversaw Medicaid under which Minnesota’s 14 social-services programs grew by an estimated $9 billion with no prepayment review system.
DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas (D) — oversaw refugee resettlement expansion under Biden E.O. Feb 4, 2021; Minnesota admitted 533+ refugees in 2022, expanding the population navigating Medicaid-supported social services.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) — warned of fraud by April 2020; MDE under his administration resumed FOF payments April 2021 after FBI notification; hired private investigators against whistleblower employees.
AG Keith Ellison (D-MN) — House Oversight found he lied about knowledge of fraud; failed to pursue state-level prosecutions; met with FOF leadership in late 2021.
The Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s June 2024 special review — a 120-page nonpartisan analysis by Judy Randall — documented what the Walz administration chose not to do. MDE received more than 30 complaintsabout Feeding Our Future between 2018 and 2021. Most were inadequately investigated. The agency labeled FOF “severely deficient” in December 2020 — and then reversed course after FOF sued, agreeing to continue processing applications while the litigation was pending.
In April 2021, MDE notified the FBI of its concerns about FOF’s operations. It then voluntarily resumed processing FOF applications the same month — paying out $17,800,000more to the organization between April and July 2021, even with an active FBI investigation underway. Gov. Walz later publicly claimed a court had “ordered” the resumption; the Minnesota Judicial Branch issued a formal statement correcting that claim.
“A systemic failure — MDE failed to act on warning signs known before the pandemic, approved applications despite unaddressed concerns, and its investigations of complaints were inadequate.”
MN Legislative Auditor Judy Randall · June 2024 Special Review (nonpartisan)
The Biden DOJ filed the first FOF charges in September 2022 — nearly two years after the FBI began investigating and after the nonprofit had already dissolved. Those charges covered 47 defendants. Subsequent waves of charges — and the full prosecution machinery that ultimately convicted 65+ defendants and sentenced mastermind Aimee Bock to 41 years and 8 months on May 21, 2026 — came under the Trump administration and Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson.
Also on May 21, 2026, the Trump DOJ charged 15 additional defendants in a parallel $90,000,000+ Minnesota Medicaid scheme spanning seven programs — including the largest autism-therapy Medicaid fraud ever charged by the DOJ. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (R) has stated that the department is investigating whether some of the stolen funds were transferred to Somalia via money service businesses, potentially funding the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.
Egregious fraud in Minnesota has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, including funds sent to Somalia through money services businesses (MSBs). Under @POTUS' leadership, the @USTreasury will not stop until we root out every last dollar.
CONFIRMED at today's hearing: Walz admin was warned about Feeding Our Future fraud by April 2020. Instead of investigating, they hired private investigators to silence the state employees raising concerns. Walz lied. Ellison lied. Taxpayers lost billions.
The Theft and Fraud in Minnesota is far greater than the 19 Billion Dollars originally projected. The Biden Administration knew this FRAUD was happening, and did absolutely nothing about it. Much of it caused by people that came into our Country from Somalia.
Sourced to Fox News reporting of January 31, 2026 on Trump's Truth Social posts. The $19B figure is Trump's public claim; the confirmed U.S. Attorney estimate is $9B for the Medicaid complex alone.
Governor Waltz [sic] is either the most CORRUPT government official in history, or the most INCOMPETENT. He knew about the fraud, covered it up, and now won't even run for reelection. The people of Minnesota deserve the truth!
Paraphrased commentary · not a verbatim post
Paraphrased from Trump's January 2026 Truth Social posts on Walz and the Minnesota fraud scandal.
The combined federal prosecutor estimate across all Minnesota fraud cases — Feeding Our Future, the 14-program Medicaid complex, and the childcare investigation — is $9,000,000,000+, per Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson. Programs have been shut down: Housing Stabilization Services was terminated August 1, 2025; HHS froze $185,000,000 in Minnesota childcare payments December 31, 2025; CMS extended prepayment photo-verification requirements to all 50 states as a permanent policy change.
The political costs: Gov. Walz dropped his 2026 reelection bid January 5, 2026. AG Ellison is under active House Oversight investigation. Rep. Omar has withheld communications from investigators; a House subcommittee is seeking those records. The Minnesota fraud scandal is now the largest documented federal-program fraud in any single state in American history.