Minnesota's billion-dollar fraud scandal has Democrats playing defense.
Republicans finally exposed the full scope of the corruption.
And Anna Paulina Luna sent Tim Walz and Keith Ellison to the DOJ after this damning testimony.
Congressional Testimony Reveals Years of Willful Blindness
Representative Anna Paulina Luna announced Wednesday she's referring Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice for criminal charges.
The announcement came during a House Oversight Committee hearing examining fraud in Minnesota's social services programs.
"Based on testimony today, I have enough evidence to believe both Tim Walz and Keith Ellison were knowingly complicit in a Somali fraud scheme in Minnesota," Luna posted on social media.
Minnesota state Representative Kristin Robbins testified that Walz knew about the fraud as early as 2017 and 2018 but did nothing to stop it.
Robbins chairs Minnesota's House Fraud Prevention Committee and has been sounding the alarm for years.
"Tim Walz and his administration have willfully turned a blind eye to crime, in the face of countless whistleblower and auditor reports," Robbins told the committee.
The testimony revealed Walz allowed payments to continue to Feeding Our Future even after state officials knew by 2020 that the group's invoices were fraudulent.
Federal prosecutors estimate fraud across Minnesota's social programs could exceed $9 billion.
That's not a typo.
Nine billion taxpayer dollars potentially stolen on Walz's watch.
The Smoking Gun Audio Recording
The most damaging evidence against Ellison comes from a 54-minute recording from December 2021.
The tape captures Ellison meeting in his official office with Somali business leaders who would later be charged or convicted in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
"Attorney General Ellison agreed on tape to fight Minnesota's own department of human and health services in exchange for Somali political and financial support," Luna stated during the hearing.
On the recording, Ellison tells the group "we are in the middle of the battle with the agencies now" and promises "let's go fight these people."
The fraudsters discuss campaign donations during the meeting.
One participant says "the only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena" and "putting our dollars in the right place."
Ellison responds "that's right" and later adds "money is freedom."
Several attendees at that December 2021 meeting later became defendants in what the Department of Justice called the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme in U.S. history.
Ellison received campaign donations from convicted fraudsters shortly after the meeting but returned them only after their convictions.
The tape doesn't lie.
Minnesota's top law enforcement officer promising to help fraudsters while they talk about funneling him campaign cash.
That's not constituent services.
That's a shakedown.
The Scale of the Fraud Is Staggering
The Feeding Our Future scheme alone stole $250 million in federal funds meant to feed hungry children.
Seventy-eight people have been charged and 56 convicted so far.
But that's just the beginning.
Federal investigators identified fraud in 14 different Minnesota social programs including housing assistance, autism therapy, and Medicaid.
Minnesota's housing stabilization program paid out $302 million over 4.5 years when the budgeted cost was supposed to be around $12 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson stated the "vast majority" of that program was fraudulent.
Autism claims to Minnesota Medicaid exploded from $3 million in 2018 to $399 million in 2023.
One in 16 Somali four-year-olds in Minnesota was reportedly diagnosed with autism by the time fraud was exposed – triple the state average.
Nobody believed that number was real.
State officials knew it was garbage.
Walz let it continue anyway.
Defendants spent stolen funds on luxury homes, Porsches, Mercedes, and trips to private villas in the Maldives.
Meanwhile American veterans sleep on the streets.
Millions more were wired overseas to banks in China and Somalia where federal investigators can't touch it.
The Treasury Department is now investigating whether Minnesota taxpayer dollars ended up funding al-Shabaab terrorists.
Think about that.
Your tax money potentially funding the same terrorists who attacked Americans.
Here's Why Walz and Ellison Let It Happen
Luna cited federal conspiracy statutes during the hearing that establish liability for "willful blindness or deliberate inaction."
That's the key.
Prosecutors don't need to prove Walz and Ellison ran the schemes themselves.
They only need to show these officials saw the red flags and deliberately looked the other way.
And the evidence is overwhelming.
Robbins testified that Department of Human Services investigators warned Walz in 2018 that Child Care Assistance Program fraud could exceed 50 percent.
Walz ignored them.
Auditors flagged Feeding Our Future as fraudulent by 2020.
Payments kept flowing.
Over 480 Department of Human Services employees have now accused Walz's administration of orchestrating a cover-up and retaliating against whistleblowers who tried to stop the theft.
So why did Walz and Ellison let billions get stolen?
Because they were terrified of being called racist.
Minnesota Democrats knew the fraud was concentrated in Somali community organizations but refused to investigate because shutting down the schemes would require scrutinizing Somali-run nonprofits.
That would invite accusations of discrimination.
So instead of doing their jobs, Walz and Ellison sacrificed billions in taxpayer money to protect their political standing with activists.
The fraudsters even weaponized racism accusations to keep the money flowing.
Feeding Our Future sued the state in 2020 claiming racial discrimination when officials tried to slow payments.
Democrats folded immediately.
This is what happens when political correctness meets public corruption.
Walz chose his political career over protecting nine billion dollars of your money.
Walz Isn't Stepping Aside – He's Fleeing
Committee Chairman James Comer invited Walz and Ellison to testify before Congress on February 10.
Luna announced subpoenas for Ellison are coming.
The Trump Administration froze hundreds of millions in federal child care funding to Minnesota pending investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel deployed a surge of federal agents to Minnesota.
President Trump designated several groups involved in the schemes as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Walz announced January 5 he won't seek re-election.
Let's be clear about what's happening here.
Walz isn't gracefully choosing to spend more time with his family.
He's running for the exits before federal charges land on his desk.
Democrats spent years propping up Walz as a rising star.
Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate in 2024.
The media called him authentic and relatable.
Now he's fleeing his governorship to avoid becoming the face of the largest state-level fraud in American history.
Ellison dismisses the recording as a "smear" but voters aren't buying it.
His voice is right there on tape promising to fight state regulators while fraudsters discuss campaign donations.
The timeline is damning.
December 2021 meeting with fraudsters.
Campaign donations flow to Ellison shortly after.
Payments to Feeding Our Future continue despite state agencies screaming about fraud.
FBI raids don't happen until January 2022 – after hundreds of millions already disappeared.
Luna's criminal referral guarantees Attorney General Pam Bondi will investigate whether Minnesota's top Democrats knowingly allowed the largest fraud scheme in state history because they valued Somali political support more than protecting taxpayer dollars.
That's not governance.
That's organized negligence in service of political self-preservation.
The American people are done watching politicians sacrifice their money on the altar of political correctness.
Walz and Ellison had one job – protect Minnesota taxpayers.
Instead they protected fraudsters to avoid mean tweets from activists.
Now they're both looking at federal conspiracy charges.
May justice be swift.
Sources:
- Blaze Media, "Anna Paulina Luna refers Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison for criminal charges," January 7, 2026.
- The Post Millennial, "Anna Paulina Luna refers Tim Walz, Keith Ellison to DOJ for criminal charges," January 8, 2026.
- RedState, "Comer, Luna Reveal Deep Trouble Ahead for Walz and Ellison During Wild MN Fraud Oversight Hearing," January 7, 2026.
- Fox News, "Keith Ellison faces scrutiny over audio recording with Somali fraudsters," January 7, 2026.
- U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "Chairman Comer Announces Hearings on Rampant Fraud in Minnesota," December 31, 2025.
- CBS News, "Everything we know about Minnesota's massive fraud schemes," January 5, 2026.
