Federal officials have issued demand letters to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), and the Somali-linked nonprofit Feeding Our Future as part of an investigation into potential misuse of federal funds to support illegal immigration.
The letters, covering fiscal years 2019 through 2025, require detailed records from approximately $8.6 billion distributed across more than 1,000 federal grants. State and local entities must respond by December 26, 2025. Programs under scrutiny include Parents in Community Action, the Community Services Block Grant, the Social Services Block Grant, Title IV-E Foster Care, Refugee Cash Assistance, Refugee Medical Assistance, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Child Care and Development Fund. Federal officials seek extensive personal data—including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and state identification numbers—to identify irregularities.
HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams stated: “We’re trying to get data from them that will help give us confidence that there’s not fraud.”
The probe follows allegations by Minnesota Department of Human Services employees that repeated warnings about fraud were ignored, whistleblowers faced retaliation, and federal funds continued being misused under current leadership. The U.S. Treasury Department and the Republican-led House Oversight Committee are also conducting separate investigations.
The HHS inquiry intensifies amid heightened scrutiny of Minnesota after high-profile fraud cases, including a $250 million theft from child nutrition programs during the pandemic. Prosecutors allege funds were diverted to shell companies, luxury purchases, and overseas accounts linked to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate. Whistleblower accounts indicate state officials were alerted as early as 2019 about potential fraud tied to Somali-run organizations but failed to intervene. Federal authorities have charged dozens of individuals in cases involving welfare, Medicaid, and pandemic-era aid programs, with total losses exceeding $1 billion. The investigations have amplified political pressure on Walz’s administration regarding the state’s handling of social services funds.
