Minnesota’s Massive Fraud Scandal Deepens as More and More Info Emerges [WATCH]

Minnesota officials and prosecutors are warning that the state is confronting an unprecedented fraud crisis across its social service programs, with potential losses estimated to exceed $1 billion and possibly climb beyond $2 billion, according to lawmakers and investigators familiar with the cases.

Republican state Sen. Michael Kreun said Minnesota has been aware of widespread fraud for years but failed to rein it in.

“Minnesota has an epidemic of fraud, as the rest of the nation is learning,” Kreun said.

“We’ve known here in Minnesota for quite some time that we’ve had a massive fraud problem. And it’s turning out that probably Minnesota is the epicenter of fraud in the United States right now.”

The warnings come in the wake of the Feeding Our Future case, one of the largest pandemic-related fraud prosecutions in U.S. history, and amid increased scrutiny of other state programs, including Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) and autism-related services.

The HSS program has emerged as a key example cited by lawmakers as evidence of how fraud allegedly spiraled out of control.

The program was launched nearly four years ago and was originally projected to cost approximately $2.6 million per year.

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Instead, spending ballooned to more than $100 million last year and was on track to exceed $120 million this year before the program was shut down.

“We’re learning [it is] probably at least $300 million in fraud right now,” Kreun said.

“And the fraud was so pervasive that they basically had to shut that program down.”

An in-person investigation conducted by Fox News Digital found that numerous addresses listed in HSS and Feeding Our Future claims were fabricated.

Some addresses led to empty parking lots, nonexistent office suites, or legitimate businesses that had no connection to the organizations submitting the claims.

Kreun said similar patterns may exist in other Minnesota social service programs, including autism services.

“The autism services program, for example, probably has that level of fraud, maybe even more,” he said.

Federal investigators uncovered allegations involving Asha Farhan Hassan, who is accused of defrauding Minnesota’s autism-treatment program of roughly $14 million.

BREAKING: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson stated he believes “half or more” of the $18 billion spent on 14 programs likely represents fraud in Minnesota.

During the conference, he highlighted 14 programs, including autism and housing services, that are flagged as… pic.twitter.com/f7hkxpMlD0

— FOX 9 (@FOX9) December 18, 2025

Prosecutors allege Hassan billed Medicaid for therapy sessions that never occurred, employed untrained staff, and paid parents between $300 and $1,500 per month to keep their children enrolled in the program.

Authorities said hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent overseas, including funds used to purchase real estate in Kenya.

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the autism program’s budget surged from $3 million in 2018 to nearly $400 million in 2023.

At least 85 entities connected to the programs are currently under investigation.

Former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, who briefly worked on the Feeding Our Future case, said the scheme stood out not only for its scale but also for how easily it was carried out.

“Honestly how easy this fraud was to do,” Teirab said.

“These fraudsters were just saying that they were spending all this money on feeding kids… and they were just making up these PDFs, putting false names into Excel sheets.”

“I could do that in five minutes on a computer if I had absolutely no conscience,” he added.

Teirab said failures in oversight within the Minnesota Department of Education and other agencies contributed significantly to the problem. He also cited political pressures as a factor.

“There were huge incentives to just turn the other way,” Teirab said.

“There’s a sense of, ‘If we say something, are they going to call us racist?’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

A whistleblower account from within the Minnesota Department of Human Services alleged that employees who raised fraud concerns internally were ignored, reassigned, or sidelined, aligning with Teirab’s account.

Townhall columnist Dustin Grage said political pressure intensified after the Minnesota Department of Education temporarily halted payments to Feeding Our Future over fraud concerns.

“Omar Fateh… as well as Jamal Osman, a city councilman in Minneapolis, they actually ended up lobbying to the governor and saying, ‘Hey, this is racist if you are to do this,’” Grage said.

Although a lawsuit was filed against the state after payments were suspended, it was later dismissed.

Payments resumed, and restrictions were eased. Grage also noted that the governor had the authority to subpoena bank records tied to Feeding Our Future but did not do so.

“They have that tool in their disposal, and they refuse to use it for whatever reason,” Grage said. “Maybe they knew about it. Maybe it’s just complete incompetence.”

Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock and local restaurant owner Salim Said were convicted for their roles in the scheme.

Prosecutors said they used fraud proceeds on luxury homes, vehicles, and lavish lifestyles. Authorities said the organization falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals and fraudulently obtained nearly $250 million in federal funds.

Teirab said Feeding Our Future was not an isolated case, pointing to another nonprofit, Partners in Nutrition, also known as Partners in Quality Care, which has been identified in Fox News Digital reporting.

When combining alleged fraud linked to Feeding Our Future, Partners in Quality Care, housing stabilization, and other programs, losses exceed $1 billion. Teirab and former acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said the total could surpass $2 billion.

“So that is what we’re dealing with,” Teirab said.

“It’s a travesty that our hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being wasted away.”

Investigations and audits remain ongoing as lawmakers and prosecutors warn that without major reforms, similar fraud schemes could continue to operate undetected across Minnesota’s social service programs.

🚨 WATCH: Disability advocate Nathaniel Olson just RIPPED into Tim Walz and Minnesota’s DHS during today’s Fraud and Prevention Oversight Committee hearing.

“I’ve heard the commissioners and the Department of Human Services, but the one thing I’m freaking worried about is this… pic.twitter.com/wQ9NkvrSzt

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) December 17, 2025

🚨 BREAKING: Tim Walz is PANICKED now that the FBI has just RAIDED a Somali “health services” building after billions in Medicaid fraud was exposed.

It’s only getting worse in Minnesota.

Tim Walz and Minnesota Democrats are TO BLAME. Resign.pic.twitter.com/66gssNkKSh

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 18, 2025