Shireen Gandhi, the deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), is retiring from the oft-criticized state agency. News of the retirement was first reported by a group of DHS employees and later confirmed by the agency.
On Tuesday morning, a social media account known as “Minnesota Staff Fraud Reporting Commentary” published a photo of what appears to be an internal DHS message about a “retirement open house” for Gandhi scheduled to take place Tuesday.
Minnesota Staff Fraud Reporting is a group of DHS employees and whistleblowers that has regularly called attention to reports of fraud in Minnesota state government. The account, and its comments, have been featured in many national news reports.
In addition to publishing the photo about the open house, the social media account published a blistering open letter to Gandhi which celebrated her exit from the agency and said she failed to stop fraud that has occurred.
“Your biggest contribution to the MN DHS will be freeing up your position,” the group of DHS employees wrote. “You leave a legacy, just not the one you hoped for—a permanent example of incompetence and failure.”
Additionally, the letter said “during [Gandhi’s] tenure, allegations of fraud and significant compliance failures were allowed to escalate while confidence in the organization’s oversight dramatically eroded.”
“Shireen, you betrayed state employees,” added the letter. “You betrayed the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Most of all, you betrayed all of Minnesota and sold out our state to fraudsters.”
Gandhi first joined DHS in 2017 during DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. Prior to her time at DHS, Gandhi held various positions in the health care industry.
While at DHS, Gandhi served as chief compliance officer and assistant commissioner. In February of 2025, Gandhi was promoted to temporary commissioner by DFL Gov. Tim Walz and was later promoted to commissioner in February of this year.
During Gandhi’s time leading DHS, the agency came under heavy scrutiny for its role in Minnesota’s ongoing fraud saga. Last year, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office estimated that over a dozen DHS-run, Medicaid-funded programs could have been defrauded of $9 billion or more since 2018.
At legislative hearings in 2025 and 2026, Republican lawmakers criticized DHS for not doing enough to prevent fraud. In May, Gandhi was demoted to deputy commissioner just one day before her scheduled confirmation hearing before the Minnesota Senate.
On Tuesday, a DHS spokesperson confirmed to Alpha News that Gandhi was leaving the state agency. The DHS spokesperson forwarded a July 6 message from DHS Temporary Commissioner John Connolly to staff which announced the retirement.
“After putting her plans to retire on hold for more than a year, Deputy Commissioner Shireen Gandhi has let me know she will retire on Tuesday, July 14,” Connolly wrote. “I’m immensely grateful for her remarkable leadership and experience during challenging times. We are a stronger agency because of her service.”
In his message, Connolly said Gandhi “led [DHS] during a period of extraordinary circumstances, including intense focus on program integrity and rapid change.”
The temporary commissioner said DHS “transformed our program integrity efforts” and implemented “data analytics” and “multiple strategies to tighten oversight of high-risk Medicaid services” during Gandhi’s leadership.
Connolly’s message also included a note from Gandhi.
“More than 1.2 million children, families, older Minnesotans and people with disabilities depend on DHS for essential care,” Gandhi wrote. “When I look back on my time at DHS, I am proud of the work that we did to protect and strengthen these services.”
Alpha News asked DHS if Gandhi or the agency had any comment on the open letter that criticized Gandhi. However, the agency did not provide any statement on that topic.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
