Feds have lost Minnesota

Mass resignations leave questions about government’s ability to prosecute fraud in Minnesota

Federal prosecutors have resigned from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota, and officials have provided few details about whether they are equipped to prosecute fraud.

Under Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota has developed a national reputation for its failure to stop the large-scale welfare fraud that has occurred in the state. The topic has become such a big political issue that Walz was essentially ushered into an early retirement because of it.

The fraud saga includes the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme as well as fraud in state-run, Medicaid-funded programs. Last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota estimated that fraud in those state-run programs could exceed $9 billion since 2018.

Both the discovery and prosecution of that fraud have come from federal, not state, entities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota has charged and convicted dozens of individuals in connection with the fraud; the overwhelming majority of whom are Somali.

However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was recently decimated after the office’s top fraud prosecutor resigned in January alongside other federal prosecutors. Today, the Minnesota Star Tribune has reported that even more federal prosecutors have resigned.

Earlier this month, CBS reported that the Pentagon is planning to send military attorneys to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota to assist with fraud prosecutions. CBS reported that the military attorneys’ assignment would begin in March.

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