The Minnesota Autism Fraud

Under Their Noses--How Could They Miss This?

Making headlines over the last couple of days is one of the most blatant scandals in recent memory. If you missed the initial release of the report and have not been outraged yet, you will be.

An explosive investigation by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute exposed the unthinkable: Minnesota taxpayer dollars—hard-earned American money—are flowing straight into the coffers of Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked terror group that’s slaughtered thousands in Somalia and beyond.

This isn’t some distant conspiracy; this was a transcontinental operation initiated right here in America, under the watch of Governor Tim Walz’s administration. Yes, the same Tim Walz who pranced across rally stages around the country last year trying to convince us that he was fit to be vice president.

The fraud web centers on programs like Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services (HSS), Feeding Our Future, and autism services for children—supposedly designed to help the needy. But instead, they became cash cows for scammers, many from the Somali community. HSS, projected at $2.6 million, ballooned to over $100 million in payouts before being shut down in August 2025 amid “credible allegations of fraud” against 77 providers.

Feeding Our Future exploded from $3.4 million in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021, with $250 million stolen through fake meal counts and invoices. The autism scheme? Another $14 million vanished, often via fraudulent diagnoses and kickbacks of $300–$1,500 per child per month.

In short, they used programs intended to help children and the less fortunate to funnel money to terrorists. Let that sink in. The depravity of it all is nauseating.

Read more about the crime...