A former Minnesota state trooper has accused state officials of obstructing fraud investigations involving daycares, alleging the system’s widespread exploitation by scammers was knowingly ignored by state leadership.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Former Minnesota state trooper and state Department of Human Services investigator Jay Swanson testified that state officials pressured him to suppress findings of widespread fraud in the state’s child care assistance program. Swanson told the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee on Tuesday that Somali refugees were exploiting the program, and that Minnesota had become known internationally as the easiest state to commit such fraud. 📺 DETAIL: Swanson revealed that he was ordered by supervisors to delete evidence of fraud and was later harassed when he refused, stating such actions were illegal. The fraud, which dates back to at least 2009, involved day care centers billing for services not provided, with federal prosecutors estimating losses of $9 billion to taxpayers. Despite these findings, Swanson’s investigative unit was dismantled under Governor Tim Walz (D). 💬 KEY QUOTE: “They had heard you could run the scam in a number of different states, but it was easiest and you could make the most money doing it in Minnesota.” – Jay Swanson 🎯 IMPACT: Around 98 people have been charged and 64 convicted in relation to Minnesota fraud in recent months, including many from the Somali community. Governor Walz, who abandoned a reelection bid as coverage of the scandal escalated online, recently claimed credit for cracking down on fraud, despite Swanson and other whistleblowers indicating that his administration was actively suppressing earlier investigations. Vice President J.D. Vance, in his role as the Trump administration’s anti-fraud czar, warned, “We’re not going to let anybody who committed a crime off the hook, and in fact, if you are a senior officer [in Minnesota], if you’re the Attorney General or the Governor, or any other elected official, we’re going to look extra hard at what you knew and when you knew it and how connected your actions were to this fraud scheme.” |
🚨 BREAKING: Jay Swanson, a former state trooper who investigated child care fraud in Minnesota, provides damning testimony to the House fraud committee
Scammers would “say they first heard about it while in the refugee camp in Kenya … they had heard you could run the scam in… pic.twitter.com/AyJizmMJQa
— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) April 28, 2026
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