❓WHAT HAPPENED: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) initiated an investigation into alleged fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs, involving millions of dollars in taxpayer funds.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Chairman James Comer, Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), Attorney General Keith Ellison (D-MN), and various Somali-linked nonprofit organizations, including Feeding Our Future.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Letters were sent on December 3, with investigation details spanning activities from January 1, 2019, to the present, primarily in Minnesota.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The Committee has serious concerns about how you as the Governor, and the Democrat-controlled administration, allowed millions of dollars to be stolen.” – James Comer.

🎯IMPACT: The investigation aims to uncover fraudulent activities involving over $1 billion in taxpayer funds and hold accountable those responsible for the misuse of public resources.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has launched an investigation into what he describes as “widespread fraud” in Minnesota’s social services programs, targeting Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and Attorney General Keith Ellison (D-MN). Letters sent on December 3 outline concerns over how millions of taxpayer dollars were mismanaged or stolen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his letter to Gov. Walz, the Democrats’ failed 2024 vice presidential candidate, Comer accused the state administration of allowing the theft of taxpayer funds and failing to act due to potential political repercussions. “The Committee has serious concerns about how you as the Governor, and the Democrat-controlled administration, allowed millions of dollars to be stolen,” Comer wrote. He further requested documents and communications related to the fraud, as well as any actions taken by the administration.

Comer’s letter to Attorney General Ellison included allegations of negligence and political connections to individuals among the state’s Somali immigrant community involved in the fraud. “Based on these reports, the Committee is concerned that you were negligent in handling taxpayer dollars that were ultimately stolen and had systems in place that allowed the funds to be funneled to terrorist networks responsible for killing Americans,” Comer stated.

The investigation focuses on fraudulent activities involving Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit accused of misusing over $240 million in food aid funds between 2020 and 2022. The funds were allegedly spent on luxury items such as real estate and cars. Additional entities under scrutiny include Safari Restaurant, Empire Cuisine and Market LLC, and others tied to Minnesota’s Housing Stability Services Program and autism treatment programs.

Comer has demanded records dating back to January 1, 2019, to uncover how up to $1 billion in taxpayer funds were mishandled. The investigation also highlights fraud within the housing stabilization program, which allegedly cost taxpayers over $104 million, and autism services, where $14 million in state funds were reportedly stolen.

The National Pulse reported on December 1 that the U.S. Treasury Department launched an investigation into allegations of mismanagement by Walz and the former Biden government, which allowed over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to be funneled by members of Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community to Islamist terrorist groups in their home country, including al-Qaeda franchise al-Shabaab.

Last week, a group of around 400 Minnesota Department of Human Services employees accused Gov. Walz of enabling and then attempting to cover up a massive Medicaid fraud scheme enacted by members of the state’s Somali immigrant community.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.